Q: Does being married hinder my chances of work?

A: Thank you Jen for this question.

If I am not mistaken, Art. 136 prohibits employers from making a woman’s civil status a condition of employment. Even if there was no law, the spirit of justice and fairness should give equal opportunity to all applicants regardless of race, color, religion, civil status and gender. In other words, theoretically, being married should not reduce your chances of employment.

In reality though, this ideal fair approach to employment is often not upheld in the Philippines, especially in the provinces. I have personally worked for employers who have pointedly instructed me not to hire applicants who are already married. Their main reason being, that married people often incur more absences because of their family obligations.

Even if something could legally be done to stop the discrimination against married applicants, it is not easy to prove beyond reasonable doubt that an employer bypassed an applicant simply because of civil status. An employer can always say that an applicant was declined employment because she did not meet the required technical qualifications or standards.

This is a sad reality of Philippine employment.