I read somewhere that when women support each other, incredible things happen. And I totally relate with this because women—even amazingly powerful women—get so much more guts to raise their hands to try untested propositions when they know they’ve got a tribe of other successful women who have their back.

The Philippine Women’s Economic Network (PhilWEN) recognizes the immense power of harnessing the strengths of women economic organizations under one umbrella. As a coalition of women’s business groups in the Philippines, PhilWEN seeks to amplify the magic of women collaborating with each other to realize its shared advocacy of gender equality, diversity, and inclusion. As a network of women seeking economic empowerment for women in the workplace and in the community, PhilWEN aims to be the catalyst for its member organizations to access funding, training and upskilling, and representation in international fora to become an influential voice of Filipino women.

Today, PhilWEN has five member organizations with a common interest to positively influence the local business landscape to be a safe, inclusive, and equitable place where women can succeed. Individually, each member organization is founded on specific women-oriented economic spheres: women in the marketplace (start-ups, micro, small, medium, and large enterprises), women in the workplace (senior leaders, CEOs, and board directors) across various industries, as well as women in communities (marginalized women in urban and rural communities).

Business and Professional Women BGC welcomes women leaders in the small and medium-sized professional and business enterprises to reach their full professional and leadership potential through networking, skills-building workshops, and seminars.

Filipina CEO Circle (FCC) represents Filipina CEOs who rose from the ranks to become senior corporate leaders in professional services, investments, fashion, infrastructure, technology, health care, and manufacturing. FCC inspires its members through activities designed to fuel their professional growth, passion, and success.Network for Enterprising Women (NEW) provides a platform for aspiring women entrepreneurs to anchor their business growth through right business ethics, networking, and business workshops. It recently partnered with Miriam College to mentor students who aspire to become entrepreneurs through consultations, immersions, and learning sessions with NEW members.

NextGen Organization of Women Corporate Directors (NOWCD) is composed of women board directors advocating for good governance and gender diversity in boards of publicly listed companies and nonprofits. Its mission is to leverage strategic partnerships to increase the number of Filipino women sitting in Philippine board rooms.

SPARK! Philippines focuses on creating equal opportunities for women, especially those who are financially challenged, to boost the country’s economic growth and development. SPARK! recently partnered with the United States Embassy and the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs for training and mentorship for 350 Filipino women.

At PhilWEN, we believe our journey toward achieving our shared advocacy for women economic empowerment needs a united front. Collaborative partnerships to amplify our voice, transparent communication in safe and inclusive environments, and trust are the cornerstones to accelerating women’s economic empowerment in our country.

A perfect regional example. In 2017, we influenced and inspired our sisters from the Asean Women Entrepreneurs’ Network (AWEN) to do the same—create coalitions than work separately on the same advocacies. Thus, AWEN Thailand was formed, Cambodian Women Entrepreneurs Network in Cambodia, AWEN Malaysia, Singapore Women Entrepreneurs Network for Singapore, and the rest will soon follow suit. A coalition of women economic organizations is the best example of working together. After we showed the Philippines’ example, no other way can you show inclusivity among strong women leaders working on empowering the least, the last, and the smallest.

With over 200 members in PhilWEN, we cross ages, skills, years of experience, and a diversity no single organization may achieve. And a bigger reach is achieved with a wider net cast across different demographics. We are grateful to our PhilWEN partners who help us build bridges so every Filipino woman can thrive and be successful. Because truly, when women support each other, magic can happen.

With the recent opening of schools, I was reminded of a significant milestone that took place in September 2015, when 193 countries of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, including the Philippines, committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Among the 17 Global Goals are SDG 4: Quality Education and SDG 5: Gender Equality.

It has been eight years since the SDGs were adopted. The question to ask is are we even there yet?

With reference to the UN’s “The Sustainable Development Goals Report: 2023 Special Edition” which presented a candid assessment of the global progress on SDGs, an estimated 84 million children and young people will still be out of school by 2030 and it will take 140 years for women to be represented in leadership positions. UN cited the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine as the major causes that reversed the decades of progress we have so far achieved. Given this, the world is falling far behind in achieving quality education and is not on track to achieve gender equality by 2030.

GENDER BIAS IN FAMILIES
The family, as a primary agent of socialization, is the foundation of values, behaviors, and social development. As a matter of fact, in Filipino culture, the family ranks in the top list of our life priorities. Inadvertently, gender and social norms, such as women being the default caregivers and men as the main financial providers of the family, are being perpetuated at home.

Oxfam’s report entitled “Understanding Norms Around the Gendered Division of Labour” reveals that the concepts of obligation or responsibility and the idea that each household member fulfills a prescribed role contributes to family harmony and unity. As traditional values still dominate our society, families inevitably conform to these expectations and socially accepted norms based on gender to avoid conflicts.

Furthermore, the language and social cues used within families perpetuate gender bias. In the same report, women who did not fulfill care responsibilities were generally perceived in a negative manner, often described as “lazy,” “negligent,” and “untrustworthy.” Therefore, as the report noted, the notion of women not being involved in care responsibilities is unacceptable. In addition, the Women in the Philippine C-Suite Study of the Philippine Business Coalition for Women Empowerment (PBCWE) and the Makati Business Club (MBC) found that, “timing is apparently crucial for women, especially when we recognize that aside from work, they also need to anticipate, plan, and prepare for their child-bearing and child-rearing years or when prioritizing having a family.” Overall, the mindsets and perceptions that children learn at home are carried over in school, and eventually when they pursue their chosen professional careers.

FORMAL EDUCATION
Schools are extensions of a child’s “home,” and therefore, play an important role in eliminating gendered expectations by fostering safe and inclusive learning environments. Materials, such as textbooks and visual aids, are fundamental to learning (and unlearning) gender stereotypes. One of the prevailing examples of stereotypes is the belief that boys are “naturally” gifted in learning technical skills in math and science, while girls are good at livelihood education and literature. This example only further exacerbates the notion that gender is a major determinant of what professions children should pursue, which should not be the case.

Notwithstanding that gender bias still exists, we are seeing gradual changes albeit at a slow pace. Using data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the Department of Science and Technology — Science Education Institute (DoST-SEI) reported that there was a 148% increase, from 179,000 in 1990 to 445,000 in 2015, in Filipino women pursuing careers related to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Females occupy nearly half of the country’s total science and technology workforce, prominently in the health industry, while women in engineering, architecture, and ICT-related fields remain to be under-represented. The under-representation can be attributed to the long-standing metaphor called the “leaky pipeline,” which refers to the decrease in number of female employees as they progress in their careers due to many factors, such as discrimination, lack of role models, gender pay gap, and the outdated idea of job segregation. Insights from the recent Women in Engineering Baseline Study, spearheaded by the Council of Engineering Consultants of the Philippines-Young Professionals Forum (CECOPHIL-YPF), further uncover that while it is believed that opportunities for men are similarly offered to women, factors that are unique to women must be considered — one of the main reasons why there is a need to conduct gender sensitivity trainings in the workplace.

SOLVING PROBLEMS TOGETHER
Education starts at home and therefore, unlearning gender biases must start within families. When people are limited to conforming to obsolete beliefs, it hurts everyone. In a similar manner, academic institutions must hold gender sensitivity training among teachers and learners. In addition, an extensive review of the current curricula must be initiated to ensure that gender bias and harmful norms are removed from learning materials, and one is free to pursue a professional career, regardless of gender. Without a doubt, rendering a more gender-fair environment at home is conducive to achieving success in school and in the workplace.

The likelihood of achieving the global targets outlined in the SDGs is unlikely, but we are not saying that it is impossible. You may ask, what can we do immediately? I believe now is the right time to reverse mindsets and stand up for gender equality at home and in school. Let us start accepting the norm that men should have an active role in doing care work, and that it is normal for women to provide for the family. As they say, if not now, when?

I would like to end by sharing an African proverb, “If you educate a man, you educate an individual. But if you educate a woman, you educate a nation. When girls are educated, countries become stronger and more prosperous.”

(This article reflects the personal opinion of the author and does not reflect the official stand of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP).)

Ma. Aurora “Boots” D. Geotina-Garcia is a member of the MAP Committee on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She is the founding chair and president of PHILWEN. She is also chair of the Governing Council of the PBCWE and president of Mageo Consulting, Inc., a corporate finance advisory services firm.

map@map.org.ph

magg@mageo.net