Sylvia H. Guerrero

Dr. Sylvia H. Guerrero is a scholar whose work focused on women’s rights and gender studies. She was the Director of the UP Center for Women’s and Gender Studies (UPCWGS) from 1989 to 1999,^[1] while being the President of the Women’s Studies Association of the Philippines from 1994 to 1996.^[2] She also served as the Dean of the Institute of Social Work and Community Development, University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman, and was a staff in the Institute of Philippine Culture at Ateneo de Manila University.^[3]

Dr. Guerrero became the Chairperson of the Philippine Social Science Council (PSSC)  in 1984 where she received the Agham Panlipunan Award from the Council for her outstanding leadership and service.^[4] Before this, she was the Vice Chairperson of the PSSC Executive Board in 1983 under the Chairpersonship of Leslie E. Bauzon.^[5] Her service in the Council extended through the years and was appointed as a member of its Institutional Development Committee in 1988. The same year, she and other known social scientists were assigned to be members of a Task Force responsible for drawing up a PSSC Agenda for the year 2000.^[6] Dr. Guerrero was also the chairperson of a Special Task Force for the preparation of the National Social Science Congress II, where she also led its Steering Committee. She was part of the Social Issues Committee of the said council in 1986.^[7]

As a scholar, her publications mostly revolved around gender studies. Her book, Gender-Sensitive and Feminist Methodologies published in 1999, won the National Academy of Science and Technology Outstanding Book Award in 2001.^[8] This book, together with Selected Readings on Health and Feminist Research: A Sourcebook, has provided a good foundation for feminist research studies in the Philippines that intellectualized feminism in the Philippines as a concept. Her other works involved psychology in the demographic context and other social factors.  She earned her Ph.D. in Sociology, with a specialization in Social Psychology and the Sociology of Development, at the University of Wisconsin, Madison U.S.A. in the early 1970s.^[9]

[1]  ADMINISTRATION: Organizational Structure and Functions. (n.d.). Center for Women’s and Gender Studies.

[2] Sylvia H. Guerrero, Ma. Carmela Patron, Marjorie Leyesa, Women’s Studies in the Philippines: An Assessment of the Impact of WSAP in Promoting the Gender Perspective, University Center for Women’s Studies, University of the Philippines, 1939.

[3] Guerrero, S. H. (n.d.). A Review of Welfare Issues in the Coconut Industry. Philippine Institute for Development Studies.

[4] Social Science Information: A Special Issue for Gerardo and Loretta Sicat 12(4). (1985). Philippine Social Science Council.

[5] Social Science Information 13(4). (1986). Philippine Social Science Council.

[6] Social Science Information 16(1-2). (1988). Philippine Social Science Council.

[7] National Social Science Congress 2: The Social Sciences and Economic Recovery. Social Science Information 13(4). (1986). Philippine Social Science Council.

[8] 25th Anniversary and 23rd Annual Scientific Meeting Souvenir Program. (2001). National Academy of Science and Technology.

[9] Guerrero, S. H. (1973). The “Culture of Poverty” in Metro Manila: Some Preliminary Notes.. Philippine Sociological Review, 21(3-4), 215–221.