Chapter Two. Always Single Filipino Women: Stories of Well-being at Midlife

Modern Philippine society has a collectivist culture that values women's roles as leaders.This is evidenced by the country's high literacy rate, particularly among women, and surpassing most countries globally in having women occupy top management positions.Despite this, Filipinos continue to hold women's roles as wives and mothers with the highest regard.Women who do not perform these valued roles risk being systematically marginalized and discriminated against, which may have implications for their well-being.This chapter presents the results of an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis exploring how well-being was defined and experienced by seven Filipino women aged 41 to 58 in the context of being middle-aged, childfree, and always single in modern-day Philippine society.This group of women experienced well-being as a) caring for the self, b) embracing one's reality, c) being supported, and d) experiencing a good life.The paper proposes a model of well-being specific to the realities experienced by single middle-aged Filipino women.These results can guide future research directions on the topic, and be used to inform practical recommendations that are supportive and facilitative of the well-being of middle-aged single women.