SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union – There are more women overseas workers in the Ilocos region than men, according to statistics released by the OverseasWorkers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Region 1.

The statistics was bared in connection with the observance of Women’s Month this month when OWWA pays tribute to the struggles and sacrifices of women overseas workers.

OWWA Division Chief Antonio Liwag said OWWA will host here on Friday, Mar. 24 a forum entitled “Coping with Overseas Employment: A Woman’s Point of View”, where women from the government and private sectors will discuss issues pertaining to migration of women workers.

Liwag said the forum is dedicated to all women overseas workers who, in the Ilocos region alone, comprise more than 60 percent of those deployed abroad. The program is also dedicated to wives of OFWs who were left home to take care of their families while their husbands are working abroad.

Another statistics corroborating that there are more women overseas workers than the men is the fact that 70 percent of the members of more than 100 Overseas Filipino Workers associations in the region are women.

Liwag said that most of the prospective OFWs being processed by his office monthly are women. This is because of the fact that most of those being deployed, he said, are women unskilled workers, like domestic helpers and factory workers.

The other women overseas workers from the region are nurses as well as teachers, most of whom were deployed in the United States.