By Civ Alonzo-Cruz
More Filipino women are engaged on different online selling platforms compared to men but male sellers earn more. This is according to a study conducted by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) and released on Wednesday, Dec.8.
According to the “Expanded Data Analysis and Policy Research for National ICT Household Survey 2019,” a slightly higher fraction of female internet users (5%) engaged in online selling than men (4%).
It also showed that most women online sellers (25%) are employed workers. Meanwhile, self-employed women and homemakers made up 36% of online sellers.
“We conducted some basic econometric modeling and observed that engagement in online selling is more likely for women, married individuals, and more educated persons. Holders of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) degrees are also more likely to enter into online selling,” PIDS Senior Research Fellows Jose Ramon G. Albert said.
The study also found that, on average, male online sellers earn more than their female counterparts, at P10,898 compared to P6,041, respectively.
However, it was also mentioned that this observation needs further research to establish whether the disparity is gender-based or attributable to other factors.
In a presentation of the study at a recent webinar of PIDS, Albert said that the likelihood of getting into online selling increases with age but decreases at a certain threshold.
“As a person grows older, there is a greater chance of engaging in online selling, but this reverses among older people,” he said.
Albert also mentioned that those who live in rural areas are less likely to engage in online selling. Unemployed, self-employed, and students are more likely to sell online than employed individuals.
The study also urged the government to focus on current and future training programs that will enhance both men’s and women’s online business and employment skills.
“The country needs to regularly measure and monitor digital skills—both life skills and competencies for work. Training the older population and less educated concerning the practical applications of ICT, as well as enhancing the general population’s knowledge and usage of online platforms in conducting online transactions, will equitably improve the population’s ability to benefit from ICT,” the study concluded.
The authors of the study analyzed the results of the 2019 National ICT Household Survey to help the government develop and evaluate policies and strategies related to information and communications technology (ICT), including measures to address issues such as the digital divide. – bny
