MANILA - Pay inequality between men and women caused the country's ranking in the World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Report to slip this year, an official of the Geneva-based group said Thursday.

The Philippines fell to 10th place from 7th place in 2016, as the WEF's estimate for the world to close the gender gap widened to 100 years, from 83 years in 2016, said Till Leopold, WEF project lead for education gender and work.

“Every P100 men earn, women earn P76, which is quite shocking if you think about that,” Leopold told ANC.

“Gender equality is itself a great mechanism to promote economic growth and prosperity and so therefore it is really a matter of
promoting gender equality and boosting economic growth," he said.

Despite being the top performer in Asia, the Philippines has a gender gap score of 79 percent, higher than the global gap of 68 percent.

Despite the decline, Leopold highlighted how women in the Philippines play strongly in politics and the economy.