Barangay VI is in Zone I District II of Caloocan City. It spans 2.36 hectares and covers four voting precincts and seven streets. For the year 2007 it has 1986 inhabitants, 771 of which are of voting age. It has an annual income of Php 1.34 million. The bulk of its budget goes to personnel services and to community development.

It is currently headed by a woman barangay chairman and eight kagawads, three of which are women. One of the advisers is also a woman. All in all there are five women officials in Barangay VI, the fifth being the treasurer. The barangay chairman, Corazon Obusan is a second termer.

Method

For the purposes of this study, in-depth interviews were done as well as a barangay level survey component was included. The barangay chairman and a woman kagawad were the focus of the in-depth interviews. The survey, on the other hand, was disseminated to 30 households through a random sampling method. However only 21 were returned. The survey was a fifteen-item questionnaire, all close-ended questions answerable by strongly agree, agree, undecided, disagree or strongly disagree. It was then collapsed into a two-point scale, undecided then considered void and was given a 0-point rating.

The questions focused on three main indicators, first perceived level of ease of entry measured by one question (indicator1); second, perceived level of transformative capability measured by seven questions (indicator 2.1 and 2.2); and third perceived level of non traditionality of gender roles measured by five questions (indicator3). The second indicator, to operationalize it, was further divided into two dimensions, the first of which is the level of being transformative in goals or issues tackled (indicator 2.1). It pertains to the difference in issues taken up by women leaders such as cause-oriented issues or issues discussing women, family and children; it is measured by three questions. Second is the level of being transformative in approach or that which pertains to a bottom-up, friendlier, people-centered approach measured by four questions (indicator 2.2).

For the in-depth interviews a qualitative approach was done, the answers grouped into themes. The first tackled personal history, the second on gender-related problems, the third on transformative approach, and fourth on transformative goals.

Presentation and Interpretation of Data

Since the survey was disseminated through a random sampling method, the survey was not disseminated evenly between males and females, resulting to 16 female respondents and 5 male respondents, the ages ranging from a low of 18 to a high of 58. However, this did not become a problem in interpreting the collected data because there were low correlation phi coefficients computed for gender and indicator 1, as well as gender paired with indicators 2.1 and 2.2 and with gender and indicator 3.

To know whether there is correlation between indicator 2—computed as the sum of indicators 2.1 and 2.2, and indicator 3, correlation coefficient Pearson’s r was computed however it resulted to a 0.39 correlation coefficient which this study considers low. Also, there showed a low correlation between indicator 1 and 2, or that between perceived level of ease in entry and perceived level of transformative capability. It registered a 0.40 correlation coefficient. On the other hand, a high 0.65 correlation coefficient was registered for indicators 1 and 3. It showed that there is a direct relationship between the perceived ease in entry and perceived level of non traditionality of gender roles

Looking at more closely, of the 21 respondents, 43% thinks women have the capacity to be transformative (both in approach and in goals), 50% of women actually agreed with this while 20% of males did not. Breaking down indicator 2, it shows that only 33% of the respondents agreed that females are transformative in their goals, of this a low 38% of females and 20% of males agree. When it comes to indicator 2.2, only 28% of the 21 respondents believe that women have a different approach or style than male politicians, of which 44% of female respondents and 20% of males agree.

Focusing on indicator 1 or the perceived ease in entry to politics, 57% of the 21 respondents said that women’s entry to politics would be relatively easy now. Of this, 75% of females and 40% of male respondents agreed.

Focusing on indicator 3 or the non traditionality of views on gender, it shows that only 19% have traditional views, of which 19% of female respondents and 20% of males have traditional perceptions. It shows that a high percentage of the interviews population have non-traditional views on men and women.

Looking at specific questions made for indicators 2.1 and 2.2, it shows that only 8 out of 21 respondents actually think that women’s goals are cause-oriented. 5 women out of 16 agree with this and surprisingly 3 out of 5 men think this is true. When asked as to whether women have the capacity to change political landscape, 17 out of 21 positively said yes, an overwhelming 14 out of 16 females and 3 out of 5 males agreed. However, this questions were computed a part of indicators 2.1 and 2.2, all questions with equal weight. It was only worth mentioning since an overwhelming number responded positively.

Looking beyond the digits then, it becomes possible to conclude that there is a non-traditional perception on gender roles in Barangay VI. This non-traditional perception explains why women have outnumbered men when it comes to barangay positions. This non-traditional perception persists irregardless of age and gender. Respondents aged fifty and above have non-traditional perceptions on gender roles instead of the expected traditional perception that they have since they are much older. Also, a female respondent aged 18 scored low on non-traditionality of perception, meaning that she has a very traditional view on gender roles. This shows that age and gender sub classifications were not that important.

Also, a low level of perception on women’s capability to be transformative exists even with a non-traditional perception pervading in Barangay VI. This means that women are viewed as no more different that male politicians when it comes to agenda and approach. However, one noteworthy thing is that there is a higher perception on women’s capability to be transformative when it comes to approach that when it comes to agenda. This means that the difference in approach is much more visible than the difference in agenda pursued by female barangay officials.

There is also no direct relationship between perception on non traditionality of gender roles and perception on women’s capability to be transformative, scoring an r of 0.39. This means that even though the members of Barangay VI have non-traditional perception on gender roles they still have no optimistic perception on women leaders; they don’t see them as pursuing different agendas or trying on a different approach.

When it comes to the in-depth interviews, themes such as male-mediated entry, lessened barriers to entry, and ability to be transformative limited by barangay structure were developed. The barangay chairwoman Corazon Obusan and one of the lady kagawads Violeta Tolentino were interviewed.

Drage (2001) mentioned of barriers such as connection, culture, political institutions, costs—both tangible and non-tangible costs. In the interviews, it became evident that these barriers were actually lessened when it comes to the barangay level. Of course, male mediation still was a necessary factor in these women’s entry—Chairwoman Obusan was backed by then Chairman Augusto Ceasar and has a family history of being involved in barangay politics and Kagawad Tolentino’s husband was involved in barangay politics before she joined in. It was like what Tapales (2002) argued that most women officials acted as “breakers”, sitting in temporarily because male relatives or husbands have reached their term limits.

However, the barrier culture seemed to have been lessened to a certain degree, as shown by a high level of non traditional perception on gender roles pervading in the barangay. Costs which could be divided between tangible costs and non tangible costs, tangible pertaining to campaign costs and other financial costs for the barangay such as buying of coffee for barangay tanods, or other personal expenses accrued for the barangay; non tangible pertains to the problems caused at home such as problem with time management, inability to fully take care of the needs of the children and husband and the likes. Costs seemed to have been lessened too to a certain degree because of the low cost of campaign in the barangay compared to national, gubernatorial or mayoral elections. Also, the spatial distance between the barangay hall and the home is also not that problematic, such that the interviewed women barangay officials could boast of having enough time both for the family and for the barangay. Of course they said that they have been experiencing little or no problems with regard to time management because they have entered barangay politics at a relatively older age when their children were old enough to take care of themselves. But even so the interviewees responded negatively when asked whether they have been encountering problems at home due to the nature of their work as barangay leaders.

The decentralized set up too, as argued by Tapales (2002) seemed to have allowed women some elbow room. The barangay unit actually gives these women independence and freedom to implement the policies that they believe are needed. Another oft cited barrier is relationship with male colleagues. The interviewees responded that of course they had some falling out relationships with some male colleagues but that should be expected in their line of work. Also, the criticisms posed to them by those male colleagues were not focused on their gender, one interviewee answered that it was focused on one member of her family; the other said it was usually focused on her projects but never on their gender.

These barriers have been lessened to an extent, as compared to that of the other levels such that it becomes natural to expect that women can become more transformative. However, the interviewees when asked as to what are the agendas and goals that they pursue answered that they focus more on road improvement, not much different from the usual politicians. But then again, they said that they recently had a campaign about RA 9262 or the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004. They said they were keen on campaigning for gender equality and gender awareness in the barangay. However, aside from the campaigns there were no other projects implemented relating to women, family and children. When asked as to why there are only a limited number of projects, they said that it could be attributed to the fact that Barangay VI is a relatively peaceful barangay; in fact the barangay blotter does not have any record on gender-related violence, only minor incidents of violence among teenagers. Also, their projects were usually spearheaded and sponsored by the Liga ng mga Barangay, currently headed by Caloocan Mayor Echiverri’s son RJ Echiverri. These projects include health, medical and dental missions.

When it comes to the interviewees perception on the difference of women’s approach, they both positively said that they think women are easier to approach and tend to have a more bottom-up approach. One said that she treats the barangay as a large family and that in fact she treats it as an extension of her own household. It was also evident that their approach is consensual rather than aggressive, judging from the number of cases they had brought to the police stations. Only one case has been filed yet in the course of this term and that in comparison with other barangays Barangay VI had cases which were resolved without reaching the police stations.

Also, criticisms against the projects implemented by the interviewees were brought to the barangay to be resolved through discussion and consensus. One said that this is their way of serving the people, to be open to criticism and to give the people what they need, both according to how they and how their constituents see it.

This means that they may be transformative when it comes to approach, using a more people-centered, bottom-up, consensual approach rather than the usual top-down, aggressive approach male leaders use (Drage, 2001). However, it is just one aspect of transformative leadership. The interviewees seemed to be lacking on the second dimension. Also, when asked as to whether they would still like to pursue higher political office, both responded negatively saying that they would not be able to cope with bigger obligations and heavier responsibilities.

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