Umbrella Question

What is a gender-responsive university in terms of safety, policy, and student affairs programs, specifically in guidance counseling and social involvement, as defined by the students within the university?

Thesis StatementThe Philippine Plan for Gender-Responsive Development (PPGRD) enforces gender mainstreaming through policies, strategies, programs and projects (2005). “The origins of gender mainstreaming stem from the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action, in which governments across the world endorsed a policy to promote gender equality and empower women.” (Moser, 2012). The PPGRD, as purported by the National Commission on Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW), states that gender-responsiveness in an institution is seen when said institution to addresses the gender issues in their policies, programs and projects to create gender equity and equality (2005). Created in 1995, it is almost twenty years since the conception of the PPGRD. How far has gender mainstreaming gone, with regards to development? Education is sector that can be used to assess the progression of gender mainstreaming. Institutions of higher education produce, modify and create knowledge molding the youth and influencing their behaviors. Hence one must ask, are institutions of higher education able to address the gender issues and gender concerns of the community? This study will look at the gender-responsiveness of tertiary education institutions, specifically one public, one private and one all-girls. It will use a feminist lens to look at gender issues of safety, policy, and student affairs programs, specifically in guidance counseling and social involvement. To avoid the imposition of terms and unjust labeling in the university, the idea of a gender-responsive tertiary education system will come from selected students within the university who will participate in a feminist focus group discussion. These students will be selected through their willingness to participate and their participation in the student council and student organizations. This selection process will be done, as these students are more knowledgeable on the issues of their peers.