The Growth of the IT-BPO Industry and Women’s Work Choices in the Philippines

Abstract

For the past two decades, the IT-BPO industry of the Philippines, which provides a variety of services to the Global North, has made substantial contributions to the country’s economic growth by generating not only revenues but also local employment. The Philippines, indeed, replaced India as the leading destination of global business processing outsourcing. Most notably, it hosts the largest number of call centers in the world. The growth of the IT-BPO industry has brought about significant changes in the female labor force of the Philippines. While Philippine society is said to be immune to any pressure to change the status quo, it has apparently been undergoing transformation in the face of an altered economic landscape. This socio-economic development deserves close attention, because it has far-reaching effects on the lives of Filipinas as well as their families. This paper aims to explore the role of the IT-BPO industry in the formation of a middle class in the Philippines, with a focus on enhanced economic opportunities for Filipina women, who now have alternative ways to earn money in their country rather than being “exported” to foreign countries as migrant workers. To this end, 12 cases of employees of software development and medical transcription companies, including affiliates of Japanese firms, will be examined in detail.

Postscript

This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 17H02247 and 19H01532. Makiko Takaoka, General Manager of the Nomura Research Institute Singapore Pte. Ltd Manila Branch provided guidance on trends in the IT-BPO industry in the Philippines. I am also grateful thank to Mike Contreras, of the same research institute, for accompanying me to interviews and to those who kindly agreed to be interviewed.