The Rise of Women Leaders in the Philippines: A Study of Corazon Aquino & Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

Despite the Philippines’ patriarchal institutions, narrow elite class, and repression of women, other social variables such as family ties, the Catholic Church, corruption, and gender symbolism have provided an opening for women to enter into the male-dominated political arena. This paper focuses particularly on the case studies of two female Filipino presidents: Corazon Aquino and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.