How do mothers in political leadership positions maintain work-life balance during COVID-19 Pandemic? Experiences from the Smallest Political Unit in Southern Philippines

Jornie D. Lumintao^1,2, Elaine M. Baulete²

¹Central Mindanao University

²Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology

ABSTRACT: Being a mother is already a tough responsibility; how much more when she is also the political leader of a community during a global health crisis? This article aims to describe how women Punong Barangays (PBs) in the Province of Bukidnon, Philippines, navigate their dual responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. It looks into their practical approaches, key factors behind their success in mitigating challenges as community leaders, and how they perceived the work-life balance based on their experiences. Gathered through purposive sampling of mothers chosen based on their involvement as leaders of their community during the pandemic, phenomenological analysis was conducted. The findings show that personal commitment to resolving role-specific challenges, combined with effective time management, is important in maintaining work-life balance. Also, protecting the family’s health, spiritual, and emotional aspects helped women PBs become resilient despite conflicting duties. It was found that women leaders were present in public service duties, while being absent from home. Their sacrifices ensured crisis response, but it also came at a personal cost. Significantly, women leaders perceived their involvement during the pandemic as having a sense of purpose. It also suggests that balancing being a mother and a political leader in a community during the global health crisis is not about being present in both tasks.  Family and organizational support, and commitment to service are critical factors in this study. It argues that the concept of work-life balance had a different meaning because of the nature of their job during the pandemic.

KEYWORDS: Work-Life Balance; Political Leaders; COVID-19 Pandemic; Local Government

 INTRODUCTION

The concept of work-life balance is widely understood as the ability to manage responsibilities across professional, personal, and social domains without compromising well-being (Kalliath & Brough, 2008). During the pandemic, various studies were done to understand how women balanced multiple responsibilities during this global health crisis particularly working women (Basak, 2021), whether teachers and academicians (Santiago, 2023; Matulevicius et al., 2021; Mukhopadhyay, 2022; Manzoor & Hamid, 2021), in business (D’Andrea, 2022), health professionals (Ayar et al., 2021), and other working women (Adisa et al., 2021). This study wants to add to this discussion by focusing on the work-life balance among women politicians, given that there was a disproportionate impact of the pandemic on women’s lives, ranging from increased economic insecurity to heightened risks of violence (Hermann et al., 2021).

This study is interested in this area of research because women leaders were linked to the effective mitigation of COVID-19 cases. For instance, Kabeer et al (2021) suggest that gendered leadership traits enabled women to implement timely action and health protection compared to their male counterparts (Kabeer, et al., 2021), transparent leadership for women Governors in the US (Sergent & Stajkovic, 2020), collaborative governance, grassroots strategies, and proactive policies, for women mayors (Funk, 2020), and stronger pandemic policies for women mayors in Brazil (Bruce et al. (2021). For Profeta (2020), women leaders were more likely to implement public health and family-oriented policies due to their gendered approach to governance, while for Johnson and Thompson (2021), their leadership approach was particularly suited for crises. This extensive body of literature is particularly reasonable since the crisis occurred five years ago, meaning numerous studies have been conducted to document its impacts.

In an attempt to contribute to these discussions on women’s political leadership, this article looks into the lived experiences of mothers serving as local leaders in Bukidnon, Philippines, exploring how they maintained work-life balance during the recent global health crisis. It investigates their practical approaches for balancing public service duties with motherhood, as well as the key factors behind their perceived success in mitigating challenges as community leaders. Ultimately, this article also offers a fresh perspective on work-life balance by analyzing how these women interpreted and applied the concept based on their lived realities. Using phenomenological research methods, the study aims to enrich ongoing debates about work-life balance, particularly for women in politics.

Studies on Work-Life Balance During the Pandemic

The global health crisis had the most significant impact on job stress, job satisfaction, and productivity of women (Basak, 2021). Santiago (2023) notes that for women teachers in the Philippines, they were engaged in household responsibilities and taking care of the family, along with office work. Factors such as excessive working hours, job rigidity, work overload, child-care duties, workplace discrimination, and lack of supervisory assistance contribute to challenges in maintaining work-life balance (Santiago, 2023). Moreover, managing the increased demands of teaching and household work and maintaining work-life balance has been stressful for them (Mukhopadhyay, 2022). In the study of Matulevicius et al. (2021) on the association of perceived work-life conflict with academic medicine faculty intention to leave during the pandemic, they argued that faculty women were more likely than faculty men to turn down leadership opportunities because of work-life conflict both before and since the COVID-19 pandemic (Matulevicius et al., 2021).

Similarly, the findings of Manzoor and Hamid (2021) delving into the challenges faced by women working in higher education departments have identified work-related issues, family issues, and personal issues as key challenges (Manzoor & Hamid, 2021). Work-related challenges included adapting to online teaching (Manzoor & Hamid, 2021). The blurring of work and family life within the same space was also a challenge (Manzoor & Hamid, 2021). As Adisa et al (2021) have identified an increased domestic workload and a proliferation of role conflict for British working women, especially since many participants reported minimal assistance from partners, intensifying their workload. (Adisa et al., 2021). Balancing work and family responsibilities has become increasingly complex (D’Andrea, 2022).  However, in a work-from-home setup, Uddin (2021) highlights the complexities of separating family/private life from the work domain while working from home since teleworking has intensified the amount of time and effort women spend on household and care duties (Uddin, 2021). In contrast, many health professionals feared infecting their family members. To prevent this, some chose to live separately from their families, which impacted their ability to fulfill parental roles (Ayar et al., 2021).

In the study of Filipino primary teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic by Santiago (2023), finding balance requires organization and coordination with help from various sources, specifically, sharing domestic duties or collaborative planning with peers reduced individual burdens (Santiago, 2023). Similarly, to Basak (2021), family support and organizational support play an important role in maintaining work-life balance for female employees (Basak, 2021). On the other hand, Uddin (2021) suggests that the pandemic has motivated women to seek a greater work-family balance since many women reflect on their work-life priorities and the need for balance to maintain mental and physical well-being. Also, the crisis exposed and, in some cases, challenged traditional gender roles. For example, some husbands became more involved in household chores due to shared confinement at home. This shift, though not universal, motivated women to advocate for more equitable distributions of domestic labor post-pandemic (Uddin, 2021).

Generally, the study of Ayar et al (2021) defines work-life balance as the equilibrium between work and personal life, where the demands of both are equal. This is a similar view to Mukhopadhyay’s (2022) study perceived it as the extent to which individuals are engaged and satisfied equally with work and family roles (Mukhopadhyay, 2022). Somehow, for Manzoor & Hamid (2021) it is the ability to manage both work and family responsibilities within the same space and time, while also addressing personal needs. Ultimately, the pandemic diminished the boundary between the workplace and home (Manzoor & Hamid, 2021; Basak, 2021). To achieve this, Basak (2021) emphasizes the need for flexibility, workplace support, and work-life balance policies for employees (Basak, 2021). It requires a reorganization of work to make greater space for care obligations (D’Andrea, 2022).

METHODOLOGY

The Canadian Department of Labor (Waters & Bardoel, 2006) defines WLB as a self-defined and self-determined state. It highlights that balance is subjective and shaped by individual priorities. This is where this study is grounded; WLB is examined by looking into the perspective of these women utilizing a phenomenological research method. To derive meaningful results, the study posed specific, non-assuming interview questions to the participants. “Do you think you were successful in balancing both responsibilities?” This approach allowed for the data from the ground to speak for itself without assuming that women PBs were able to balance their dual responsibilities and the strategies employed to perform these. In this study, the research questions were refined so that it is focused (Creswell, 2014).

This study draws on data gathered from the lived experiences of 12 women Punong Barangay (PBs), all of whom are also mothers, serving as the unit of analysis. The Punong Barangay is the highest elected official in a Barangay, which is the smallest governmental sector in the Philippines. They are responsible for the development and progress of the country through strong local governance (Ordonez, 2022; LGC, 1991). The role of the punong barangay during the pandemic is crucial in maintaining peace and order and addressing the community’s needs. Most importantly, Abesamis et al (2022) argued that they manage public services, such as the barangay health center, by developing systems that centralize data, manage public information, and improve access to healthcare. The number of participants is appropriate because, according to Ahmed (2025), the most appropriate sample size for phenomenological research typically ranges from 5 to 25 participants. For Neuman (2011), this is a strategy for choosing the right research participants for the study based on theoretical considerations. Thus, purposive sampling was used, with the use of informed consent for utmost ethical considerations to be observed (Babbie, 2008).

The locale of the study was the Province of Bukidnon in Southern Philippines, as it experienced one of the longest community quarantines in the country, lasting 7 months from April 2020 to October 2020. Strict lockdowns, curfews, and mobility restrictions were imposed across the province and its 14 municipalities during this period (Lumintao, 2021). As a largely rural province, the pandemic and lockdown measures created unique challenges for local governance and grassroots leadership. Punong barangays played a vital role in implementing COVID-19 protocols (Carpio et al 2023).

Finally, this research followed the sophisticated approach to qualitative data advanced by Garza (2011) following thematic collation analysis. In this method, the researcher served as the main researcher, while the research participants served as co-researchers, which means that the latter served as the ones who were instrumental in gathering the data sought for the study. Garza (2011) explains that this process involves five steps for analyzing qualitative data. It includes the demarcation of thematic moments, which is about identifying key passages that address the goal of this study. It is followed by thematic collation, which involves grouping these meaningful extracts into clusters based on shared concepts. Next, transformation of moments or clusters, where researchers interpret psychological nuances through repeated readings of the grouped data. Finally, the composition of an idiographic thematic narrative synthesizes these transformed clusters into a cohesive written account that captures participants’ lived experiences on work-life balance during the COVID-19 pandemic.

FINDINGS

The participants in this study are composed of 12 mothers, whose ages ranged from 35 to 70 years old. In terms of the number of children, 10.42% % have 1-2, 58.33% for those with 3-5, and 31.25% for those with 6 to 8. As political leaders, they were earning between 9,520 and 38,080 per month (approximately 167.02 USD and 667.37 USD), with leadership experience from 6 to 17 years. These women came from ethnically diverse backgrounds, including Cebuano, Bukidnon, Higaonon, Manobo, and Ilocano, with more than 50% identified as members of an indigenous tribe in the province. 83.33 % were identified as belonging to Roman Catholics, then 16.67% were members of the Baptist and Seventh-Day Adventist Religions.

Perception on Work-Life Balance

Table 1: Summary of Responses

          Source:  Gathered and Synthesized by the authors (2025)

As shown in Table 1, there are diverse answers from the research participants. For those who said yes, they emphasized various reasons to support their claims on why they claim to balance family obligations with responsibilities as a community leader during the pandemic. Participants 2 and 3 attributed her actions to the strict time management and personal rules she imposed to make everything done without compromising the other tasks. This is because their husband was available to take care of their children. However, Participant 3 emphasized that her structured approach of assessing every situation before taking action allowed her to be effective during the pandemic. Participant 4 shared that because their community had experienced fewer issues, it helped her remain effective as a PB and as a mother. Participant 5 shared preparedness as a leader as a factor why she was successful.

“For me, I was successful as PB and as a mother and wife. So, as a woman leader, after the pandemic, you should be prepared all the time. People were oriented about health protocols. And the barangay should budget to be always ready. Because for me, if you’re not ready as a leader, we’ll have difficulties when something comes.”

Moreover, Participant 6 highlighted the concept of respect as an important factor to facilitate a harmonious relationship within the community. Participant 8 confidently stated that success in family and PB duties was because she never neglected these responsibilities.  Then, Participant 12, the role of her fellow public officials as facilitating factors for her to succeed both as a mother and PB during the pandemic. The findings imply that effective time management, strong family support, community cooperation, and structured approaches and preparedness were key factors that enabled public servant mothers to balance their duties and personal responsibilities during the pandemic. However, the findings revealed that these perceived successes in balancing their responsibilities were because of their sense of fulfillment from helping the community while fostering family stability. This observation in the Province of Bukidnon will be further explained below.

On the other hand, those who explicitly said that they have not balanced both responsibilities shared highlighted different reasons and issues they encountered during the pandemic. For Participant 7, deep inside her, there was a struggle with guilt and tension because she felt that her role as PB and in the family was not fully fulfilled during the pandemic.

“Truthfully, I don’t think I ever felt like I fully balanced those two, despite my best efforts. There was always some level of tension or sacrifice involved. When I was dedicating myself fully to my PB duties, I inevitably felt guilty about my family responsibilities. And when I tried to be more present at home, I worried that I was letting down my community. ….But I never felt like I struck the right balance. The pandemic is really difficult because I am worried about my constituents having no job. So, we need to give aid. I’m proud that I was able to serve my community so passionately as a PB, even with all the challenges.”

Participant 9 explicitly shared that her attention was more on the barangay because of the community’s needs, although she emphasized that at the end of the day, her family was her first priority.

“Actually, my attention was more on the barangay than my family because there were so many needs in the community. But I always prioritized my family’s safety…. My family wasn’t too affected, but I was very worried. I protected my family as much as possible since I was always out in the barangay. I’m thankful that my family supported my work.”

Both Participants 10 and 11 emphasized the situation that they did not feel too much pressure during the pandemic because of low cases of COVID-19. However, they shared that they could not tell whether they had balanced the dual responsibilities. This is a unique response that provided a different perspective because of the kind of context they were in during the pandemic. The findings revealed that their inability to balance was because some women PBs prioritized the overwhelming community needs during the pandemic, often at the expense of family responsibilities. Interestingly, others faced less pressure due to favorable local conditions, yet still grappled with the challenge of balancing dual roles. This serves as baseline data to explore how these women political leaders balance their dual responsibilities during the pandemic.

Actual Approaches to Balance Dual Responsibilities

 Table 2: Approaches employed to balance dual responsibilities.

       Source:  Gathered and processed by the authors (2025)

These approaches to balance the dual responsibilities were drawn from the responses from Participants 1, 2, 3, 4,5, 6, 8, and 12. They were the women PBs who claimed that they had successfully balanced being mothers and community leaders during the pandemic. Their responses were thematically analyzed to capture their lived experiences. As a result, four key themes define their specific experiences in the context of Bukidnon Province (see Table 2). However, it cannot be denied that similar approaches employed by other women PBs (7, 9, and 10) expressed failures in balancing dual responsibilities.  It was included in the discussion below to provide more meaningful and substantial insights for the study.

Responsiveness and Time Management

This means that, for women to balance the demanding duties of both family and work, they must fulfill every expectation placed upon them, whether as public servants or as mothers, attending to and accomplishing each task. Participant 9 shared that she needed to switch roles and respond to every need between her family and as PB. She emphasized that being able to respond to these roles is what made her balance both responsibilities.  Interestingly, Participant 7 emphasized respect as an important factor in living in a culturally rich community because it made it easy for her to respond to every need. She highlighted that this respect was observed in the indigenous people’s community, and her children and husband. For Participant 3, her structured approach made her responsive during the pandemic:

“For me, I have this habit of assessing a situation first before I respond. That is important in all situations, so you will understand first, then respond to it. I am a nurse (by profession), so I observe that.” (Participant 3)

On the other hand, being responsive was also done with time management. It means that they have to make sure that the element of time is observed in terms of accomplishing their dual tasks. For Participant 4:

“For me, time management is really helpful because many people are expecting me to provide for them as PB in the barangay. So as a mother, I really manage my time.” (Participant 4, Personal Communication, September 13, 2024)

“Time management is important for me because I have kids, and although I have my husband at home, I am the one who is in charge of deciding financial matters. You will end up being trapped in a task if you do not observe strict time management.” (Participant 2)

Moreover, it is also worth noting that these actual approaches to balancing family life and public service duties were also employed by women PBs who think they have failed in terms of balancing the two roles. In terms of time management shared by Participants 7 and 9 also shared that they employed time management, especially since there were overwhelming needs in the barangay because of the COVID-19 situation. The findings imply that personal commitment to resolving role-specific challenges, combined with effective time valuation, serves as a critical factor in women leaders’ perceived success in balancing multiple responsibilities. The findings revealed that while they recognized that they had important, multiple roles during the pandemic, they also carried the weight of responding to all these needs.

Protecting Family

Because the crisis is about health protection, women PBs enforced strict health protocols to shield their families while serving the community. This is because the nature of their job was to always be present in the barangay. The reality was that, at all times, they were exposed to whoever was carrying the virus. Participant 6 avoided physical contact with her grandchildren whenever she came home from the barangay. Participants 1 and 8 had stricter rules by keeping their families at home.

“I kept my family safe by not letting them go out. I made sure they took vitamins and ate healthy.” (Participant 8, Personal Communication, October 8, 2024.)

“Okay, during COVID, aside from basic responsibilities as a mother, we had family responsibilities where we had to be very careful. It was my responsibility to ensure protocols were followed to protect the family during the pandemic. Especially since I was coming from outside. I was very careful when it came to family priority……. (Participant 5)

Similarly, these health approaches were also employed by Participant 9, who shared that she enforced house rules of not allowing her family to go out easily for fear of contracting the virus outside. The findings imply that protecting the family’s health during a pandemic allowed women leaders to successfully balance dual responsibilities. The findings revealed that women prioritized family protection through key measures such as establishing household rules and maintaining strict personal health protocols, an important strategy because this crisis was about health.

Drawing Strength from Faith

This is a more abstract theme. However, it emerged as an actual approach among women local politicians to balance their dual responsibilities. It means that prayer and faith provided emotional strength for women PBs. Participants 1, 3, and 9 shared that through prayer, they were able to find comfort because they faced challenges in dealing with their residents in the community.

“I didn’t take complaints personally because I knew God was with me” (Participant 1)

“If someone doesn’t understand, I pray that they will.” (Participant 5)

“I have to stay strong and maintain my focus. I always remind myself to be strong. I always pray to God so that He will guide me every time I go to the barangay.” (Participant 3)

For Participant 8, the reason for her faith in God was that she asked for the protection of her family against the virus.

“I have to stay strong and maintain my focus. I always remind myself to be strong. I always pray to God so that He will guide me every time I go to the barangay.” (Participant 3, Personal Communication, September 10, 2024)

Similarly, Participant 10 shared her faith in God provided her strength in facing the angry resident because of the strict COVID-19 protocols she imposed as a community leader. The findings reveal that spiritual and emotional facets helped women PBs become resilient and overcome exhaustion due to conflicting duties in the family and the community. The findings imply that the emotional aspect is an important factor for women in political leadership positions to become effective mothers and leaders.

Time Trade-offs

Finally, during the pandemic, women PBs had to sacrifice their personal time with family to be present in the barangay as it was confronted with overwhelming problems. Participant 12 shared that she worked long hours in the barangay despite family obligations, however, she stressed that her husband helped her in terms of managing the responsibilities at home. Participant 1 shared her activities and how she had limited time with her family

“What I experienced was leaving early in the morning and coming home late at night. I couldn’t talk to them much because the schedule changed due to the pandemic.”

“The hard part is that I need to spend long hours in the barangay, but my fellow barangay officials are cooperative. They listened to me. Although my husband is there, I have to be present in the barangay. I did not disregard both duties, I feel I am still successful.” (Participant 12, Personal Communication, October 11, 2024)

Participant 9 acknowledged that barangay duties required prioritization, yet she ensured her family’s safety remained uncompromised. Meanwhile, Participant 7 confessed to feeling guilty over dedicating excessive time to public service, fearing she might neglect her community’s expectations. Findings revealed an interesting theme about maintaining work-life balance among mothers in politics. Multiple research participants were present in the barangay, and while being absent at home, they assert they have balanced both responsibilities because of the support of their husbands. For instance, Participant 1 said that, “My husband is very supportive of my work, so I can balance my role in the barangay and my duties at home.” The findings imply that personal sacrifices ensured crisis response, but it also came at a personal cost. However, this does not mean negative for their family because the support of their families and their husbands fulfilled their maternal duties to be delivered during the pandemic.

Factors for Success

To better understand the work-life dynamics of the research participants, this section analyzed how various factors helped women PBs overcome the challenge of their dual responsibilities. In-depth interviews were conducted with the mothers, with follow-up questions to dig deeper into their subjective experiences. As a result, several key factors that facilitate their success as public servants and as mothers were uncovered.

Based on Table 3, there are two categories. The first is individual-level factors, which means that these are the abilities and qualities of women PBs that allowed them to be successful in coordinating and communicating with their fellow barangay officials and residents in the community. The second category is the environmental factors, which refer to the context in which the women are situated during the pandemic, such as family support and understanding, as well as the barangay support and cooperation. Through this, it strengthens the arguments presented above.

Table 3: Facilitating Factors in Balancing Dual Responsibilities

         Source:  Gathered and processed by the authors (2025)

Individual Level Factors

Hands-on Leadership Styles. This theme relates in terms of how women PBs managed their tasks. This means that they were at the forefront of accomplishing the task and maintained an organized workflow to ensure that they were effective in all responsibilities as public leaders and mothers. Also, despite the pressures they faced from angry residents and a lack of resources, they became adaptive and solved different issues as political leaders.

“As PB, the barangay is all my responsibility, but tasks don’t get mixed up because my work is organized, and I ensure everyone gets served, work must be systematic. When service as a tribal elder is needed, I focus there, as a mother, I focus there when work is needed there. There needs to be time for everything, there needs to be time management according to tasks. Because if that’s not your mindset, you can’t perform well in your duties and responsibilities……. But my family is my first priority, and I know how to organize everything systematically with time management. But you know what to prioritize when everything happens at once, depending on demand.” (Participant 5, personal communication, September 13, 2024)

“It’s not because you’re a woman that you have to do certain work… I’ll do the work as long as I can.” (Participant 1, Personal Communication, August 12, 2024)

The findings imply that being a mother and political leader in a community requires possessing essential qualities such as being proactive, organized, and adaptive. The findings revealed that women PBs who effectively employed time management strategies while leading task accomplishment described greater success in balancing their maternal responsibilities with public service obligations

Dedication to Service. This theme emerged in the responses during the in-depth interviews because women PBs viewed their involvement as political leaders during the pandemic as a deep commitment to public service. Despite compromising family time and facing a multitude of challenges as political leaders, many research participants expressed fulfillment in providing solutions to pandemic-related problems. Participant 1 stated,

“Those challenges, I didn’t expect them, but they had a big impact on me because it was done for the community. I am happy that I was able to help. It felt successful. As a mother, it’s the same because we’re not perfect, but it’s still okay, I still feel successful.” (Participant 1, Personal Communication, August 12, 2024).

“Really, my feeling was heartache; it hurts me to see my people experience such difficult circumstances. But I was happy because despite the difficulties, I was able to serve the people, and I could see they were satisfied with my service to them.” (Participant 5, personal communication, September 13, 2024)

Based on data, it was revealed that women PBs perceived their involvement during the pandemic as having a sense of purpose, which means that being a public servant is not just a job but a calling to serve the people. The findings imply that, to be able to balance being a mother and a political leader in a community during the global health crisis, sustained commitment to help the community is what motivates women to face the dual responsibilities.

Environmental Level Factors

Organizational Cooperation and Support. This theme means that women PBs were not working alone during the pandemic since they were supported by their fellow barangay council members. Participant 1 said that together with their fellow barangay officials, they worked to assess who was affected by the pandemic. Participant 8 explained that in terms of giving orders, it was her main duty, but in terms of doing all the tasks, there was cooperation among the public officials of the community. For Participant 5, coordinating with the treasurer in terms of financial aspects to manage resources properly was essential during the pandemic. Participant 6 clearly described how other officials in the barangays were in charge of specific tasks relevant to their positions. She said that,

“We assigned some BPSOs to guard the entrance to ensure that only healthy individuals could enter the barangay. We had BHWs (Barangay Health Workers), BPSOs (Barangay Public Safety Officer or Barangay Police Security Officer), and barangay council members stationed there, so that even from a distance, people could be held and checked for their temperature, so that our barangay would remain protected from infection.”

These findings imply that a strong support network within the political institutions where they are situated would help women to feel successful in balancing public and private responsibilities. The findings revealed that the cooperation and support of fellow barangay officials were helpful for women PBs to overcome the overwhelming challenges during the recent global health crisis.

Family Structure and Support. This theme is a more personal aspect for women PBs. Family setup means that women PBs already had grown children who do not need extensive maternal care. It also means that their husband can manage responsibilities at home, aside from the explicit support they received from them. Participants 1, 5, and 8 shared that because her children are already grown, they already understand her responsibility as a community leader, and they don’t require extensive infant-like care anymore. It was about sharing of responsibility according to Participant 8 because she will just provide instructions to her husband, and all work will be done accordingly.  Participants 3 and 9 expressed that they received support from their families, as well.

“My children are older now, so they understand my responsibilities. My husband is very supportive of my work, so I can balance my role in the barangay and my duties at home.” (Participant 5, personal communication, October 8, 2024)

“My mind was always focused on my duties as a Punong Barangay (PB). I didn’t really worry about leaving my family behind because they were doing fine. I can’t say it was a balanced life, because it wasn’t; most of my attention was given to my responsibilities in the barangay. I prioritized my duties in the barangay because I wasn’t facing any major problems at home. That, for me, was truly a blessing from God.” (Participant 1, personal communication, August 12, 2024)

Based on the context of this study, findings suggest that a family structure, particularly when combined with strong spousal support, contributes significantly to women leaders’ sense of fulfillment in balancing maternal and political roles. The study revealed that during the pandemic, women PBs benefited substantially from having grown children who required less supervision and husbands who provided reliable support.

DISCUSSION

The findings revealed that while women PBs recognized that they had important, multiple roles during the pandemic, they also carried the weight of responding to all these needs. The findings imply that personal commitment to resolving role-specific challenges, combined with effective time management, serves as a critical factor in women leaders’ perceived success in balancing multiple responsibilities. These results on being responsive to the roles assigned to women are similar to the findings of Santiago (2023), where teachers in the Philippines have shown to be highly responsive in juggling professional duties, such as preparing modules, attending webinars, and domestic roles such as childcare and household chores. Similarly, Manzoor & Hamid (2021) observed that Kashmiri women academicians have actively responded to shifting demands (teaching and child-rearing). In a work-from-home setup, Uddin (2021) describes that the working women in Bangladesh had to constantly shift between roles, from caregiver to worker and partner. Husbands became actively involved in cooking, cleaning, and childcare.  And for the British working women by Adisa et al. (2021), were described as “constantly switching hats” between professional and domestic roles, often at the same time, for instance, they were attending a Zoom meeting while supervising kids. All of these existing studies had the same observation with women PBs in the Province of Bukidnon in this study. Women leaders recognize the different roles attributed to them; thus, being responsive is an essential factor in maintaining work-life balance. However, this is not always the case, where women had to switch roles. Being responsive to the roles is different in the context of this study.

The findings revealed that PBs in this study did not necessarily switch roles. This observation in Bukidnon aligns with Mukhopadhyay’s (2023) study on women academicians in India, which found that despite increased household and childcare duties, women prioritized their professional responsibilities. In Mukhopadhyay’s study, over 90% of respondents managed their teaching duties successfully, ensuring regular classes and meeting deadlines. They attributed this prioritization to the heightened demands of their profession and the fear of failing to meet work expectations. Similarly, in this study, women PBs prioritized their public service duties due to the increased demand for community support during the pandemic. However, unlike the women in Mukhopadhyay’s study, who experienced heightened stress, the women PBs maintained better work-life balance. This difference can be attributed to the strong support from their husbands, who took on childcare and household responsibilities. Because their husbands provided emotional and practical support, the women PBs felt more secure, empowered to focus on their leadership roles. For D’Andrea (2022), this reduces role conflict, enhances their ability to perform both at work and at home, and spousal cooperation lowers stress and prevents burnout. In this study, multiple research participants were present in the barangay while being absent from home. The findings imply that personal sacrifices ensured crisis response, but it also came at a personal cost. However, this does not mean negative for their family because the support of their families and their husbands fulfilled their maternal duties to be delivered during the pandemic. Also, even with multiple responsibilities and prioritization of one role over others, it did not they managed to balance work and personal life effectively, thanks to their supportive spouses.

Moreover, the findings revealed that women prioritized family protection through key measures such as establishing household rules and maintaining strict personal health protocols, an important strategy because this crisis was about health. The findings imply that protecting the family’s health during a pandemic allowed women leaders to successfully balance dual responsibilities. This supports the findings of Ayar et al (2021), where working health professionals also feared contracting their family given the nature of their work. They needed to live separately from their family so that they could protect themselves. For Ayar et al (2021), these actions by the health professionals impacted their parental roles. Therefore, to balance responsibilities during a global health crisis, prioritizing family health protection is essential. Safeguarding the family during the pandemic ensures that work and personal duties can be managed effectively.

Further, the findings suggest that environmental factors are vital in maintaining work-life balance among women. The findings revealed that the cooperation and support of fellow barangay officials were helpful for women PBs to overcome the overwhelming challenges during the recent global health crisis.  Also, family structure, particularly when combined with strong spousal support, contributes significantly to women leaders’ sense of fulfillment in balancing maternal and political roles. The findings of this study extend the results of the study of Basak (2021), where family support and organizational support played an important role in maintaining work-life balance for working women. For family support, Basak (2021) emphasized that family support, such as their husbands’ sharing chores, reduces women’s caregiving burden. For organizational support, they argued that employers must provide paid/unpaid time off, flexible schedules, and remote work options (Basak, 2021). In this study, where the nature of the job is public service as political figures, the support recommendations, such as monetary incentives and remote work, may not be immediately available to them, especially since political leadership has different dynamics. As public servants during the pandemic, in-person contact was necessary. Thus, for these kinds of leaders, the cooperation within this political institution was crucial in allowing them to maintain a work-life balance.

Significantly, the findings reveal that spiritual and emotional facets helped women PBs become resilient and overcome exhaustion due to conflicting duties in the family and the community. This was common for working women during the pandemic; for instance, Santiago (2023) observed that teachers expressed how their faith strengthened and how it shaped their emotional mindset during the pandemic. Their observations also include resiliency as a theme, which describes how teachers remained emotionally strong to face the pandemic-related stress and maintain their roles both at work and at home.  The findings imply that the emotional aspect is an important factor for women in political leadership positions to become effective mothers and leaders.

Finally, some important points need to be highlighted when looking into the work-life balance of women political leaders during the pandemic, especially in local government settings. To understand how women truly perceived balance, firstly, this study adopted an approach where the idea of “work-life balance” is not pre-defined. This article ensured that this concept and its interpretation would naturally emerge directly from the experiences of women leaders. In this study, the work-life balance among women PBs is subjective. Some felt they managed well, while others saw it as an ongoing struggle. Also, most PBs saw themselves as more successful in governance than in family duties. Ultimately, while others admit that they fail to balance between work and family roles, they nonetheless still express a sense of accomplishment of being able to surpass the challenges they faced and being able to provide for their residents during this global health crisis. For some, completing both roles meant success, while for others, not being able to give equal attention meant they failed to achieve balance. These findings highlight that work-life balance in governance is fluid and shaped by institutional expectations, crisis demands, and personal coping mechanisms. It is worth noting, it was revealed that women PBs perceived their involvement during the pandemic as having a sense of purpose. To be able to balance being a mother and a political leader in a community during the global health crisis, sustained commitment to help the community is what motivates women to face the dual responsibilities. Thus, the concept of work-life balance had a different meaning in this study due to the type of job they held and the level of support they received during the pandemic. Women did not feel the pressure to achieve equilibrium because of the support systems they received, allowing them to feel successful in their chosen political careers.

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS

The findings suggest that personal commitment to resolving role-specific challenges, combined with effective time management, serves as a critical factor in women leaders’ perceived success in balancing multiple responsibilities. Also, protecting the family’s health and spiritual and emotional facets helped women PBs become resilient and overcome exhaustion due to conflicting duties in the family and the community. Most of the time, women leaders were present in public service duties, while being absent from home. The study found that personal sacrifices ensured crisis response, but it also came at a personal cost. However, this does not mean negative for their family because the support of their families and their husbands fulfilled their maternal duties to be delivered during the pandemic. Also, as public servants, where in-person contact was necessary, cooperation within this political institution was crucial in allowing them to maintain a work-life balance.

In this study, women leaders perceived their involvement during the pandemic as having a sense of purpose. It suggests that balancing being a mother and a political leader in a community during the global health crisis is not about being present in both tasks because of family and organizational support, and ultimately, their commitment to service. It argues that the concept of work-life balance had a different meaning because of the nature of their job during the pandemic.

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