Category Archives: Business

Business, Training

12th ALCUCOA Annual National Conference

(October 9, 2019, Diamond Hotel, Manila) Today, I was honored to speak at the 12th ALCUCOA Annual National Conference on the topic, “Industry and Academe Partnership: Insights into the Future of LCUs and its Graduates.” ALCUCOA is the accrediting arm of the Association of Local Colleges and Universities (ALCU).  

Addressing the audience of top school officials, faculty, curriculum leaders, researchers and stakeholders from various LCUs and affiliated academic and tertiary education institutions from all over the country, was a bit daunting as it brought memories of my childhood, growing up in a family of academicians.  But then, I thought, I have to share with them the perspective of industry.

So, forge ahead I did as it was a great opportunity to highlight the need for industry and academe to work together to bridge the job skills gap, and to ensure that graduates are equipped with 21st century skills to be globally competitive.  Of particular importance is the need to improve English Language Skills as this is the global language for business.  It is sad that currently the English Language Proficiency of Filipino graduating students is declining, and I urged the audience to do what they can to stop the decline and keep this critical competitive advantage of the Philippines.

I presented possible partnership models, like those of Amcham, Accenture, Ayala.  The Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) has developed an extensive Industry-Academe Playbook, which IBPAP members and partner schools can use.  I encouraged the audience to establish ties with IBPAP to ensure that we have skilled and industry-ready workforce.

ALCUCOA presented a post-humous award to Prof. Tomas B. Lopez, Jr., Former President, University of Makati and Former President, Association of Local Colleges and Universities (ALCU).  I remember Tommy, whom I knew from AIM days, as an affable fellow who was great at communicating his ideas.  From the accolades extended him, it was obvious that he was much loved.

I trust that the audience will take heart and work together with industry to address the job skills mismatch, unemployment and underemployment in the country.  As DOLE Acting Undersecretary for Worker Protection, Joji Aragon said, “We need specialist workers, not technicians.  We need to produce graduates who are fierce in this competitive environment, and who are trained with deep, useful skills in the growth areas.”  ALCUCOA President and Executive Director, Dr. Raymundo P. Arcega, CESE acknowledged the challenge which Usec. Joji and I presented, and said ALCUCOA will take heed and collaborate with industry to ensure that graduates are job ready.   

I shared the career journey of Michael James Hamlin at the conference, as an example of the challenges that our graduates face in getting jobs, and finding their niche in the work world. Michael James is an excellent example of a young man who studied in the province, and worked his way up the ladder, securing additional certification in money laundering and financial crime to excel in the IT-BPM industry.
Business, competence, Gender, Technology, Women

Speaking at the Cartier Women’s Initiative Female Founders Breakfast

(July 31, Manila)  When my friend Ces Rondario, founder and CEO of Impact Hub Manila and Regional Lead for Impact Hub Asia Pacific, asked me to be a speaker at the July 31 Cartier Women’s Initiative: Female Founders Breakfast, I readily agreed, not knowing I was in a for a most enjoyable and meaningful experience. 

On the way to the event, I googled who the other speaker was, and was pleasantly surprised to learn that Audrey Pe, founder and executive director of WiTech, short for Women in Tech, started her business at the tender age of 15.  WiTech is a community organization that educates, inspires and empowers youth to break gender barriers and use technology to make positive differences in society.  My curiosity was piqued and I looked forward to meeting Audrey.

Arriving at Happy Garden Café, I was ushered to the speakers’ table, where everyone seated there seemed younger than my children.  I met Audrey, with her colleagues Marla Abao and Bing-Rong Hsieh of Launchgarage, and Carmina “Carbs” Bayombong of InvestEd.  It was refreshing to meet such young women engaged in start-ups and serious about their craft. Soon, our keynote speaker, Republic of the Philippines Sen. Risa Hontiveros arrived, tipping the age balance slightly in my favor.   

Our panel dealt with the issue of building an effective ecosystem for women entrepreneurs to thrive.  Moderating our panel was Riva Galveztan, founder of Customized Dating, who I met years ago at another event, this time by the Business and Professional Women – Makati.   Riva is another accomplished young woman, who has overcome odds and come out stronger and better. She is an entrepreneur and wellness advocate. Aside from running her company The Natural Shelf, which offers a variety of essential premium quality Filipino-made natural health products, Riva mentors students at the ABS-CBN Bayan Academy Grassroots Enterprise Management Program.

Sen. Risa, a staunch advocate for women’s rights, shared the importance of finding out and pursuing what you really want to do in life and what makes you happy.  She talked about her early days as a student leader at St. Scholastica’s College which awakened her desire to help solve the country’s problems.  She is behind the Safe Spaces Act that punishes catcalling, wolf whistling and online sexual harassment, among others.  Before the event began, I congratulated her on getting this passed into law, and whispered my fervent wish that all our public officials, from top down, follow the Bawal Bastos Act.

Young, vibrant and driven, Audrey is a poster child for women in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math).  While still in grade school, Audrey decided to learn coding by signing up for online courses and doing research.  Realizing that very few women pursue tech and that there is a dearth in women role models in STEM, Audrey began a blog on inspiring women in technology.  Her interviews and blog gained attention and soon some friends joined her.  The WiTech community grew, and they organized the very first Women in Tech Conference (WiTCon) last year, a student-led conference for female students in tech.  Together with WiTech members, she travelled to Marawi, a neglected area in the Southern Philippines that was bombed in 2017, to teach basic programming skills to teens living in evacuation centers. Audrey shared her dismay upon finding out the gender gap where women earned much less than men for doing the same kind of tech work and so she has decided to make eradicating this an advocacy.   Clearly, Audrey is on the right path to helping empower women.

I, on the other hand, shared how I started TeamAsia in Hong Kong 27 years ago, organizing a management award program in six Asian countries, at a time when mobile phones and the Internet were still in their infancy stage. Proudly women-owned and women-led, TeamAsia is now an award-winning, strategic marketing communications firm that brings brands to the next level experience.  I talked about the difficulties and choices I had to make as a wife, a mother, and as an entrepreneur, finding the right work-life balance while growing the company, and the need for women to have access to markets, access to finance, access to information, and access to a support system.  For the latter, I said I could not have accomplished what I have without the support of my mother who took care of my children while I had to travel for work.

The event ended with a conversation between Ces Rondario and Carmina “Carbs” Bayombong.  Carbs is president and CEO of InvestEd, an investment platform providing student loans to underserved youth using a proprietary credit rating algorithm. Coming from humble beginnings herself, Carbs came up with the idea of helping marginalized youth to achieve their dreams by providing student loans that cover tuition, miscellaneous fees, daily allowance, dorm and project expenses.  Why, there is even a laptop loan!  This is such a worthy social endeavor, and she proudly announced that her students have now started paying back their loans.  

Carbs bested candidates from other countries to win the Cartier Women’s Initiative laureate for SouthAsia and Oceania in 2019.  Only one other Filipina has won this award, and that is Jeannie Javelosa, who came in as Asia-Pacific finalist in 2012.  A staunch advocate of culture, sustainability and gender, Jeannie is co-founder of the pioneering ECHOStore and the GREAT Women brand.

The Cartier Women’s Initiative, an international business programme, was created in 2006 by Cartier in partnership with INSEAD Business School to identify, support and encourage businesses led by women entrepreneurs (www.cartierwomensinitiative.com). Twenty-one women entrepreneurs, three finalists per region (Latin America & the Caribbean, North America, Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East & North Africa, East Asia, South Asia & Oceania) are awarded every year.  Seven laureates are chosen, one for each of the different regions.

As laureate, Carbs took home $100K in prize money which she is using for InvestEd, a scholarship to attend the six-day INSEAD Social Entrepreneurship Executive Education Programme in Switzerland, media visibility, and ongoing support for the further growth and development of their business.   Carbs shared how all finalists received one-to-one personalized business and financial coaching prior to the Awards Week, attended a series of business coaching workshops and networking sessions during the Awards Week, enjoyed media visibility in the months leading up to the Awards Week, and were interviewed  by local and international press during the Awards Week. 

Many thanks, Ces and Impact Hub, for inviting me to the Cartier Women’s Initiative: Female Founders Breakfast, and for sending me this recap of the event: IMPACT_HUB_CARTIER_This was indeed time well-spent with the next generation of inspirational women leaders and entrepreneurs.

Business, Corporate Social Responsibility, Event Management, Travel, Work

TeamAsia turns 27!

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Today marks our 27th year.  As I look back, I can’t help but reminisce a bit, seeing this behind-the-scenes ingress video of one of our events in the TeamAsia LinkedIn Page.

We started in 1992 as an event management company organizing the Asian Management Awards for the Asian Institute of Management and the Far Eastern Economic Review in six Asian countries (Malaysia, Singapore, Hongkong, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines). Back then, we were just a team of four: Mike Hamlin, my sister Pinky, Myles and me.

Mike and I would travel to each country, meet with the judges, the AIM board of governors, the AIM alumni association, business management schools, as well as local and regional media to invite companies to enter the Awards.  We would print several thousand letters and nomination packets and send them out by snail mail.

Once the entries started coming in, we would pour over each one to ensure completeness of the responses. We would then organize meetings in each country to shortlist and then select winners, and with the media to promote the Awards.  Once the winners were known, we would write each one to invite them to a gala awards dinner with the head of state as keynote speaker.

Raising sponsorship money to cover the cost of the project was another nail-biting challenge, as well as coordinating with the venue, caterers, florists, stylists, audio-visual suppliers, photographers and the like to ensure a successful press conference and awarding ceremonies.  Why, we would even have to write the script ourselves.

Days before the gala awards in each country, our team would arrive armed with the glass trophies designed by Impy Pilapil and the exhibits that we would then have to physically carry and set-up ourselves.  We would coordinate with the local registration team, print out tags, set-up registration, and brief the hired ushers for the event.  We would arrange seating for between 500-700 VIP business guests, supervise the setting up of the backdrop and the styling of the venue, then dress up in formal clothes to greet the guests and manage the actual event.

Looking back, I am amazed that we were able to successfully organize the Awards for three years, at a time when there were no mobile phones, no faxes, no emails, no Internet.  Truly, we’ve come a long way since then.

When we learned about the importance of sustainability through the League of Corporate Foundations, we decided to practice greening not just in our office, but in our events to reduce waste and impact on the environment. In the early days of event management, we would print thousands of direct mail invitations and send them by snail mail.  As new technology was developed, we graduated to fax marketing and email marketing, supported by our team of dedicated telemarketers.  Today, we promote our events through digital media, and hold virtual coordination meetings to avoid time-wasting city traffic.

We use event technology as an enabler to make the planning and marketing process easier, to engage guests and enhance their delegate experience, to capture online and onsite registration, share up-to-date event information to guests, collect their feedback, strengthen security, measure ROI, and more.  We develop award-winning websites, mobile apps, AVPs, chatbots and audience response systems, and use different technologies for the WOW factor. Speaker presentations are no longer printed and bound in folders, but posted on the website and sent to guests for downloading.

While technology has in many ways made life easier for us, I must say that the secret ingredient to TeamAsia’s success is still the amazing people who create innovative ideas and deliver next-level experiences for brands using integrated marketing strategies.

From intimate executive briefings, corporate anniversary celebrations, and employee engagement activities to large-scale global conferences, TeamAsia handles each event with the same passion, excitement, and painstaking attention to detail.  Armed with excellent organizational and story-telling skills and a creative approach to problem solving, our Experience, Creative, Content and Digital Marketing teams create unique turnkey events that bring next level experiences to brands, helping them connect meaningfully with their audiences.

Happy 27th anniversary, TeamAsia!   It’s been an amazing adventure.

APEC, Business, Gender, Governance, New Zealand, Resilience, Structural Reform, Training, Travel, Women, Work

APEC Public-Private Dialogue on Structural Reform and Gender

September 13, 2018.  Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean.  For the first time in my life, I visited New Zealand.  I attended the APEC Public-Private Dialogue on Structural Reform and Gender as the private sector representative of the Philippines.

Held September 10-11 in Wellington, the forum was a big eye-opener for me.  Over two days, I learned how structural reform can help remove many of the barriers to women’s economic participation in the region, and unlock their full potential.  Andrew Grant, senior partner of McKinsey & Company, estimates the full potential of women to contribute to the global GDP at $28 trillion per year, which equals the combined economies of China and the US.  For a best-in-region scenario of addressing three gender gaps: additional workforce participation, shifting the mix towards full-time work, and improving sector mix and productivity, this could mean an additional $12 trillion per year, equivalent to the combined economies of Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom.  Zeroing in further, the Asia-Pacific economies can improve by $4.5 trillion annually, equal to the combined economies of Austria and Germany.

The numbers are staggering, and the potential is great, but many things have to be done to unlock the rewards. Many of the barriers are legislative, regulatory or policy in nature.   Addressing low labor force participation in quality jobs, under representation of women in business leadership positions, uneven access to digital technology, and entrenched attitudes about women’s role in society and work are some common themes that call for action. In addition, we need to throw in gender equality in work, provision of essential services to women, legal protection and political voice, and physical security and autonomy.

Dr. Tatyana Teplova, senior counsellor and head of Governance for Gender and Inclusiveness Unit of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), stressed the importance of promoting women’s active participation in the global economy to achieve truly sustainable and inclusive growth. Citing research in OECD economies, she identified several remaining gaps in gender equality, such as an 11% gender employment gap, only 32% share of women in senior management positions in central government, 32% average of women supreme court judges across OECD, 28.7% average of women parliamentarians in OECD, and 20% average of young women studying STEM. Alarmingly, 57% of OECD economies listed violence against women as their most urgent priority.  The cost of exclusion is high, and Dr. Teplova summarized the three Es that can unlock sustainable and inclusive economic growth as Employment, Education, and Entrepreneurship.  She shared the OECD Toolkit for Mainstreaming & Implementing Gender Equality that economies can adopt to address the barriers.

Speakers from various Asia-Pacific economies related how they are currently mainstreaming gender issues.  Ms. Chiu-Chun Lin of Chinese Taipei’s Department of Gender Equality shared real life examples of their ten-year journey in implementing the Gender Impact Assessment (GIA), which is both tool and process in practicing gender mainstreaming to achieve gender equality.  Recognizing major challenges such as established social norms and gender stereotypes (i.e., men are breadwinners and women are home makers), glass ceilings, and low labor rate participation of women due to childbirth and having to care for children, Ms. Lin shared Chinese Taipei’s initiatives for mainstreaming. These included building women’s capacity through education and training; promoting family friendly workplace policies like maternity/paternity/parental and family care leaves, once a month menstrual leaves, and twice-a-day breastfeeding time; extending access to capital and capacity building for women-owned start-ups and helping small and medium scale businesses through their Women Entrepreneurship Flying Geese Program; promoting board gender diversity in listed companies; and encouraging women’s participation in the government ministries through their One-Third Gender Ratio Principle.

Mr. Kohei Fukawa of Japan’s Gender Equality Bureau, Cabinet Office, explained Womanomics under the Abe administration. In January 2001, Japan established the Council for Gender Equality  directly reporting to the Prime Minister with the aim of creating a society in which all women shine. In December 2015, the Cabinet approved the Fourth Basic Plan for Gender Equality with long-term government policy directions and specific measures, which include reforming labor practices such as the tendency to take long working hours and relocations for granted; recruiting and promoting women, developing women leaders and increasing their participation in all fields of society; creating an environment that supports women in difficult situations; enhancing measures to eliminate violence against women; and more.

Mr. Fukawa reported an increase of over two million women in the workforce in the past five years under the Abe administration. Over the same period, nursing home capacity has increased by over 600 thousand to ease the waiting time for child nursing care facilities, allowing mothers with young children to re-enter the workforce. Realizing that Japanese women work much longer for unpaid work, while men are paid for their work, Japan is making a big push towards improving work-life balance.  Work-Style Reform Legislation was enacted in July 2018 calling for equal pay for equal work and setting an upper limit for working hours. As a reward, “Eruboshi” Certification is granted to companies that engage in good practices, with additional points in the evaluation of public procurement for those promoting work-life balance.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Ha shared Vietnam’s national strategy for gender equality, hinged on the following objectives: strengthening women’s representation in leadership and management positions; narrowing the gender gap in the economy especially in the rural areas; improving human resources through education and training; ensuring gender equality in accessing and receiving health care services, in culture and information, and in family life; eliminating gender-based violence and enhancing the capacity of state management on gender equality.  Results of Vietnam’s initiatives are seen in political leadership where a woman serves as the current chairperson of the national assembly and three women serve in the politburo.  Literacy levels for women is up 92%.  Social insurance laws are in place, providing parental leaves for female and male laborers, establishing a safe working environment for women, and setting up kindergartens in industrial zones.  With the help of central and local radio and TV stations, there is better public awareness of gender equality, encouraging men to share the housework and women to share the family’s economic burden.

The head of the Equality Unit of Iceland’s Ministry of Welfare Ms. Rosa Guorun Erlingsdottir shared why Iceland continues to rank first in the gender equality index.  It was not always like this though, as she shared how the women of Iceland fought for women’s equality.  Although women in Iceland won the right to vote in 1915, behind New Zealand and Finland, women’s uptake in leadership positions in government was slow. Compared to 16% to 23% in other Nordic countries, Icelandic women comprised only 5% of parliament seats in 1975.  Naturally, this was frustrating for Icelandic women.

Ms. Erlingsdottir shared how Affirmative Action can make change happen.  On October 24, 1975, now known as Women’s Day Off, Icelandic women decided it was time they were taken seriously by the men.  On that fateful day, instead of going to work, doing housework, or taking care of their children, women decided to go on strike, taking to the streets and demanding for equal rights.  Work came to a standstill.  Services stopped.  Suddenly, men realized the importance of women as they had to take care of the children, with many not knowing how to go about it.  Since then, women have enjoyed great strides to gender equality.

At present, Ms. Erlingsdottir reported that 79% of women are actively employed, with 34% working part time.  There are gender quotas on public committees and company boards, and laws in place requiring certification of equal pay.  There is an all-women political party, paving the way for women to hold 38% of parliament seats in 2017, and 44% of local governments seats in 2018.  Women make up 2/3 of university students. Ninety percent of children aged one to five years are in day care centers, with municipalities footing 85% of the cost.  Parental leave legislation allows equal rights for men and women, with three months each for males and females, and three months shared rights for parents.  Because of this legislation, over 90% of fathers have taken their paternity leave, drastically changing ideas about masculinity.  And I dare say, they actually enjoy it from the photos she showed of fathers with their young children.

The economic benefits are clear.  The increase in the number of women employed has raised per capita Nordic GDP by 10-20% over the past 50 years.  Closing gender gaps in the next 20 years are predicted to boost Nordic GDP growth by another 15-30%.

Interestingly enough, the RTS Senior VP of McKinsey & Company Australia Jovita Gartlan believes that in some cases it is the women who hold themselves back. Sharing her personal experience while attending a meeting where the participants were asked if they wanted to take on the top post of the company, most said they did not want to. They were happy with their current situation, and felt that they had too much on their plate already and did not want the additional stress.

Citing McKinsey research on women in the workplace, Ms. Gartlan said that while women are just as interested in advancing as men, they progress more slowly through the corporate pipeline.  And while women ask for promotions as often as men, men move up faster without having to ask.  She noted that less women aspire to and believe they will become a top executive, and that fewer women than men enjoy the support of their managers in their quest for advancement.  The studies are clear: gender greatly impacts women’s opportunities, especially since women have to do most of the housework (which is unpaid) after a full day’s paid work at the office.  Given the double work shift of home and office, and having to care for children and the elderly, no wonder women hold back.

For organizations that wish to change the game and move more women into positions of leadership, Ms. Gartlan recommends building a strong business case for change, redesigning roles to enable more flexible arrangements, actively sponsoring potential women leaders, providing reinforcement mechanisms that support women through life transitions and challenge traditional views or merit in recruitment and evaluation, investing in training to build leadership capabilities and giving them experience in key leadership roles.  She urged women to actively ask their managers not just to mentor them, but to sponsor them for promotion.  And for those who feel happy where they are, to embrace the feelings of “being enough” and not feel pressured.

The forum also gathered indigenous women holding leadership positions in the public and private sectors.  Linda Paru of Papua New Guinea talked about the challenges women entrepreneurs, especially those from MSMEs, faced such as lack of access to credit and the high cost of internet and ICT.  While there are many challenges, she cited telecoms and financial reforms that contribute to MSME’s participation in online services, digital finance, e-health and e-education.  Senior Adviser for the Status of Women in Canada, Anne Fontaine spoke of indigenous women’s issues, rights and interests in Canada.  Ms. Rangimarie Hunia, director of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Whai Maia Ltd., spoke of the leadership role of Maori women, being a prime example herself of a strong Maori woman leader intent on securing the future of her mokopuna or the next generation.

Ms. Josephine Cashman, Founder, Executive Director and Managing Director of Big River Consulting Pty. Ltd., spoke of her experiences with legislation and regulation implementation and enforcement.  It is one thing to come up with laws against domestic violence and gender discrimination, and another to implement it. She recounted the experience of an elected female MP who resigned because of bullying from her male colleagues; they were more interested in her hair and attire than her policy work.  The statistics in New Zealand are harrowing: one in three women have suffered physical or sexual abuse; one in five were harassed at work and one woman per week is killed by a former partner.  The statistics are even more alarming for Maori women.  Strengthening enforcement is thus crucial.

To combat this, New Zealand has embarked on a national campaign against domestic violence and gender discrimination.  New Zealand has passed legislation granting victims of domestic violence 10 days paid leave to allow them to get away from their abusive partners, relocate and protect themselves and their children.  The only other country that has passed a similar law on a national level is the Philippines under the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004, granting up to 10 days special leave for victims and stiff penalties for employers who try to impede such leave.

Gender Pay Equity was another hot topic.  And here, Ms. Rosa Guorun Erlingsdottir of Iceland shared the inroads they are doing to reduce the estimated 20% difference in pay between men and women.  Iceland has made it a legal requirement for employers with 25 people and more to get an Equal Pay Certification which must be renewed yearly.  This means Equal Pay for the same Work or Work of Equal Value.  To ensure there is no discrimination, an audit is done of jobs of equal value, separating the job from the person doing it.  Employers are asked to rank jobs, which are then paired with jobs of equal value.  Companies that get the certification are also allowed to use the Equal Pay Symbol in their corporate promotions.  Companies that do not follow the law are fined.

Participants were fully engaged in two workshops. First was a practical group exercise on Gender Impact Assessment where each table was asked to weigh in on a country-wide issue that affects women and to recommend how to handle the situation.   Our group was presented with a Public Sector Scenario of a drastic slump in the economy causing businesses to close and government wanting to reduce its overhead.  The department mandate is to limit government jobs to only one person per family.  With approximately 40% women in government positions, of which 39% have frontline service positions while 27% have back office positions, 21% in middle management positions, 13%in senior leadership positions and 29% working part time, it was obvious that women would be the first to lose their jobs.

Our animated discussion revolved around how to consult the public and women in particular on the proposal and what changes in the draft resolution we recommended.  We looked at how families will want to keep the full time, higher-paid member on government payroll to ensure continued family income, and how the government can assist families that are affected such as stepping up skills training, giving higher separation pay, providing priority access to funds and markets, giving plus points in government procurement for those let go, and ensuring gender neutral criteria in the selection of those to let go.  The group discussion highlighted the disparity in economies of Chile and New Zealand where the unemployed enjoy six months insurance versus that of Mexico and the Philippines, where no work means no pay and no food on the table.

To cap the two-day dialogue, Mr. Phil O’Reilly, New Zealand APEC Business Advisory Council Member, facilitated a whole group discussion on next steps that APEC can take to push the agenda of structural reform and gender.  The group came up with a long list of recommendations, such as collecting data and best practices for gender plus lens across APEC economies and sharing this in a digital portal for easy access, conducting and making available research on gender pay standards and how to close the gender pay gap, studying the OECD Toolkit to determine its adaptability in the region, and establishing a pathfinder initiative that looks at how gender is incorporated into all free trade agreements, to name a few.

I look forward to finding out what APEC will adopt as its next steps given this first foray into a dialogue on structural reform and gender.  Definitely, there is a lot that needs to be done to remove barriers to women’s economic participation in the region, and unlock their full potential.  What is clear to me from this two-day dialogue is the urgent need to measure and know disaggregated gender data using the Gender Plus lens.  Unless we establish a base line, we won’t know what needs to be done and how we are progressing.  As New Zealand’s Acting Policy Director for Economic Independence of the Ministry of Women, Ms. Riripeti Reedy said, “You only treasure what you measure.”  We have to start now.

Business, Travel, Women, Work

Outstanding ASEAN Women Entrepreneurs Award in Bangkok

May 10, 2018.  Bangkok.  As I donned my simple terno for the awarding ceremonies of the Outstanding ASEAN Women Entrepreneurs, all I could think of was that I hope it would fit. Still in a bit of a haze realizing I was in Bangkok, Thailand, I relived the past few hectic days.

On May 4, I was elected as the incoming president of the Women’s Business Council of the Philippines (WomenbizPH).  At that same meeting, I also learned that I was to receive an award along with nine other Filipinas: Cherrie Atilano of AGREA, Natividad Cheng of Uratex, Imelda Ahalul-Dagus of Dennis Coffee Garden in Zamboanga City, Octavia Hizon of Hizon’s Restaurant & Catering Services, Jeannie Javelosa of Great Women Philippines and ECHOstore, Edilee Omoyon of Milea Organics, Olive Puentespina of Malagos Cheese in Davao City, and Carlota Manalo-Tan of Wendy’s Philippines.

AWEN established the ASEAN Women Entrepreneurs Award to honor outstanding entrepreneurs who have made an impact in society through their commitment, vision, and leadership, and through gender-sensitive and fair labor practices for women.

It all seemed too much to take in, especially since our company was in the final stages of organizing the 29th East Asian Insurance Congress (EAIC) May 6-9 at the Marriott Grand Ballroom. International delegates had already started to arrive, and the EAIC Banquet and Closing Ceremonies were to be held the evening of May 8. There was no way I could leave the event to go to Bangkok, or so I thought.

But my friends Chit Juan, Boots Garcia and Jeannie Javelosa insisted I join them in Bangkok. So did my daughter Bea. And my client at EAIC agreed for me to miss the closing of the Congress so I could catch the last flight to BKK on the 9th. After all, my seasoned team could handle the event. The week whirled by quickly managing the EAIC.

And so here I was in Bangkok, putting on my pink terno and wondering what challenges lie ahead for me. I trust that whatever they are, I make my family, friends, colleagues and country proud.

Business, Children, Corporate Social Responsibility, Differences, Food, Governance, Health, Life, Resilience, Women

Brewing@AIM with VP Leni Robredo

Yesterday morning, I attended the launch of Brewing@AIM: Conversations with Thought Leaders with VP Leni Robredo as its very first guest speaker. Truth to tell, I was a bit miffed when I arrived at 8:45 am only to learn that the keynote speaker was scheduled to arrive at 10:30 am. It was nice though that there were some early birds like me, and so I joined the table of my friend, Yoling Sevilla, CEO of The Leather Collection, Inc.  Yoling and I are both board members of the Women’s Business Council (WomenBizPH). Yoling invited me to her company’s 25th anniversary celebration at AIM on September 16, and reminded me that my late husband Mike who was then VP for External Affairs at AIM had given The Leather Collection its first big break with the AIM diary.

Yoling is one admirable woman, an entrepreneur par excellence, and is currently doing wonderful work with the GREAT Women project. She kidded me about her being the youngest graduate at our table, having finished the 18-month part-time program, Master in Entrepreneurship (ME). A relatively new offering of the Asian Institute of Management, ME is designed to help busy entrepreneurs grow their business, develop practical skills and realistic approaches to value creation and growth, and balance both personal and business goals.

Yoling and I were seated with AIM’s first MBM graduates from 1970 and 1971: Rene Sunico, Butch Bautista, Jun Orobia, and Chito Francisco.  The talk around the table revolved around giving back to the community, particularly those who were devastated by super typhoon Yolanda.  Rene shared that Republic Cement had built 25-sqm hyperbolic paraboloid houses in partnership with Habitat for Humanity in Daanbantayan, Cebu. These houses were made to deflect the fiercest winds and withstand strong earthquakes, he said. Curious, I tried to remember my highschool geometry lessons and imagine how a hyperbolic paraboloid house would look. Rene tried to explain that the outside was pointed and the inside was round. Aha! So, it’s an igloo on the inside and a pyramid on the outside, I said aloud.  To satisfy my curiosity, I asked him to send me photos of the houses, which he kindly did.

Promptly at 10:30am, Vice President Leni Robredo arrived. VP Leni also holds the office of chair of Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC). She spoke quite passionately about her mission to eradicate poverty. Promising to make HUDCC a listening office, VP Leni shared her experience of traveling to the poorest and farthest barangays to meet and listen to Filipinos at the fringes of society. She admitted that working at the grassroots level was not the happy field trips and photo opportunities people thought them to be, but actually tense situations, mostly humid and tiring, where she met people who are angry, hungry and desperate for lack of opportunity. It was interesting that VP Leni called them partners in development rather than mere beneficiaries, giving them a more active role in improving their situation.

Citing the economic results posted two weeks ago where the Philippines hit 7% GDP growth, besting China’s 6%, VP Leni observed that this top line growth has put the country on the global map, and that now all eyes are trained on the Philippines. And yet, despite this economic boom, the inequality is startling with 52% of the national income belonging to the Richest, the top 20% Filipinos, while only a miniscule 4.45% of national income goes to the Poorest, the bottom 20% of Filipinos.

VP Leni pointed out that while inclusive growth is critical for the poor, it was also necessary so that businesses could grow sustainably. Admitting that government cannot do it alone, and that her office has a miniscule budget, she asked the AIM alumni to lend their support and help eradicate poverty through five main areas: 1) housing, 2) public health and hunger, 3) rural development and food security, 4) education, and women economic empowerment.

I was surprised to learn that there is a 5.7M total housing backlog, which translates to building 2,602 houses per day in the next six years. I nudged Rene Sunico and said this was right up his alley. But building houses alone will not solve the problem, VP Leni stressed. A whole eco-system must be built with livelihood opportunites, proper sewerage and drainage, security of tenure, schools, hospitals, parks, children’s playgrounds. HUDCC is also making it easier for people to have homes, by reducing paperwork for socialized housing from 27 to 9, and reducing processing time from two years to 15-30 days.

On the health front, VP Leni said there are 3.5M Filipino children suffering from stunting. Unless children are given better nutrition, a decade from now, the workforce will be weak and unfit for work. The objective is to improve nutritional intake of children in first 1,000 days of life from womb to two years. She cited the work that the Zuellig Foundation is undertaking to help address hunger and proper nutrition, and that of Seaoil in creating an Information Management System tool that allows data gathering of where the need is.

Rural development and food security can be addressed with Impact Investment. VP Leni cited the example of Jollibee Foundation that is helping small farming communities become entrepreneurs by teaching them to grow onions and sell them. This being a transition year in education with the K to12, the focus should be on career planning, skills development, and job matching. VP Leni shared that the aspiration of most high school seniors is to learn baking. Obviously, there is a great Disconnect as graduates need to have the right skills to enter the workforce. She urged LGUs to created a database of existing jobs that could be accessed to fight underemployment.

Women economic empowerment, VP Leni’s last initiative, is exactly what the Women’s Business Council (WomenBizPH) is advocating for, from livelihood training to mentoring, micro-finance and access to market. WomenBizPH has been in the forefront of organizing or collaborating with likeminded stakeholders in policy advocacy for women economic empowerment. For example, WomenBizPH served as the private sector representative during the last APEC Women in the Economy Forum held in Manila, as well as the lead partner of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) in the Inclusive Lending Window for Aspiring Women Entrepreneurs (ILAW) program that seeks to provide access to finance for women entrepreneurs. Other regular programs include quarterly WomenBizPH talks and bi-annual conferences, network and business matching, mentorship for entrepreneurial development and research on entrepreneurship.

VP Leni summed up her speech with three important takeaways learned during HUDCC’s listening and environmental scanning stage. First, the voices of communities must be heard; we must listen and find out what they need. Second, LGUs have a huge role to play to make poverty reduction a reality. Finally, there must be metrics that measure outcomes and not activities. She urged the private sector to work hand in hand with government to ensure inclusiveness for all.  I trust that her words fell on fertile ears at AIM and that six years from now, poverty will be a thing of the past. One thing I am sure of, she can count on WomenBizH as a partner in development.

 

Business, competence, Confidence, Health, Menopause, Women, Work

Boosting Women’s Health, Powering Women’s Hearts and Minds

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They say people die of a broken heart. I must be walking dead then since it’s happened twice in the last three years. Two deaths in a row is more than one heart can handle.

Seriously though, I was intrigued when the topic of the Women’s Business Council’s WomenBizPH Talks last week bannered “Boosting Women’s Health, Powering Women’s Hearts and Minds.” WBC was honored to have two women leaders as guest speakers.

IMG_8058First was prominent cardiologist Dr. Maria Adelaida “Leni” Iboleon-Dy, chair of the Philippine Heart Association Council on Women’s Cardiovascular Health. As Mylene Abiva, president of Felta Multi-Media Inc., introduced Leni’s many accomplishments including being Assistant Medical Director for Medical Education at St. Luke’s Medical Center, Associate Dean for Clinical Sciences, amongst a long list of positions held and honors received, what struck me most was here was a tall, gracious and beautiful woman who has made it to the top in a field dominated by men. What an outstanding testament to womanhood! And instead of just resting on her laurels, she has been leading the campaign to help other women take charge of their health.

Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy. That’s what they call the broken-heart syndrome, Leni shared. Most often seen in post-menopausal women, Takotsubo is brought about by recent severe emotional or physical stress. Emotional stress can be triggered by the death of a loved one, relationship break-ups, arguments with a spouse, or constant anxiety due to financial problems. Physical stress examples include acute asthma, surgery, chemotherapy and stroke.

First studied in Japan, this stress-induced cardiomyopathy, according to Wiki, is characterized by the bulging of the left ventricular apex with a preserved base, making the heart look like a “tako tsubo” or octopus pot. The symptoms are similar to a heart attack, and can be lethal. Leni said this could clear up in four months if treated right.

In her talk entitled “Why hearts need to mend: Yes, broken hearts can kill!,” Leni urged the guests to take care of their health, as heart disease is the #1 leading cause of death in women regardless of race or ethnicity. In fact, she said one of three women die of heart disease, compared to one of 30 who die of cancer. Now those are alarming figures.

Leni is on a passionate quest to wake up women to the reality that cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major public health issue for women, and to get them to take the necessary steps to lead healthy lifestyles as a preventive measure. Because women have a higher tolerance for pain (due to childbirth), women are more difficult to diagnose, and are more likely not to get appropriate treatment following a first heart attack. As Leni said, we tend to “tough it out” more than men. Women also have different symptoms from men, ranging from a “doomed” feeling, or being “suddenly very tired,” vomiting or having indigestion. Now, who of us haven’t felt these before? By this time, I was already beginning to feel hypochondriac.

Leni categorized the risk factors for CVD into what can be changed and what cannot. The bad news is that we can’t do anything about heredity, about being women, or about getting older, especially when we hit menopause. The good news is we can adopt healthier lifestyles by quitting smoking (and staying away from second hand smoke), eating healthier, exercising, controlling our weight gain, and taking the necessary medication for conditions like high blood cholestrol, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

Another wake-up call was the definition of hypertension in adult women. Normal blood pressure should be less than 120 systolic (higher number) and less than 80 diastolic (lower number). So if you have a blood pressure of 120 over 80, you are already pre-hypertensive.

Leni recommended that women do vigorous activity like brisk walking, running or swmming or even dancing for at least 30 minutes, six days a week to get their hearts and lungs in top condition.  I guess I should start doing Zumba soon.   Either that or start running.

As for nutrition, Leni cautioned the group to stay away from vein-clogging cholesterol-rich food and fad diets that promise quick results. This prompted a lot of fond ribbing of fellow WBC member Evelyn Singson, Chairman and President of Philippine Hotelier’s Inc. for serving kare-kare with bagoong for our lunch at Dusit Thani.  A healthy, balanced diet will give the best results, Leni said. And a glass of red wine a day will keep heart attacks away (my line, not hers).

Unfortunately, we cannot stop the clock, and menopause will eventually catch up on all of us. This greatly increases the risk of CVD. So, we need to manage our stress levels if we want to be around to enjoy our children and grandchildren.

Another casualty of ageing is our minds. “My yesterdays are disappearing, my tomorrows are uncertain, so what do I live for? I live for each day. I live in the moment.” Quoting neuroscientist and author of Still Alice, our second speaker Gina Lumauig, Director of Communications of Neeuro Pte. Ltd., Singapore, highlighted the importance of early diagnosis and early intervention to close the treatment gap for dementia.

Dementia, a syndrome caused by different brain illnesses, affects memory, thinking, behavior and the ability to perform everyday functions. There are an estimated 44.4 million people worldwide suffering from dementia. Meanwhile, according to the Dementia Society of the Philippines, an estimated 200,000 Filipinos suffer from dementia, with many more having to live with the problems the illness brings, not just as patients but as caregivers. This I know from experience as my late maiden aunt suffered from dementia in her senior years. Little by little, dementia wormed itself into her brilliant mind destroying her ability to function normally. It was difficult for all of us seeing her deteriorate.

There are things that we can do to keep our brains fit, such as being fit physically (Gina suggested yoga), getting enough sleep (hard note to self: Monette, you need eight hours of sleep!), eating healthy, laughing, and volunteering.

Writing is one of the best ways to sharpen our mind. Gina urged us to write a letter, write a postcard, write a gratitude journal, write to our children and our parents, and to write by hand.

Gina pointed out that her 82-year old parents who have been married 60 years and have so many children, granchildren and great grandchildren, have keen minds because of their healthy and active lifestyle. I was seated beside Gina’s mom during the talk, and she was certainly keen of mind and humor, keeping me entertained so much so that Gina would stop once in awhile and ask her mom to tone down her talking.

Founded by a team of experienced technopreneurs and neuro-scientists, Neeuro Pte. Ltd. where Gina works is about to launch a headworn gadget supported by computer games that challenge memory, attention and more to keep the brain healthy and fit. I asked her to alert me when this happens so I can get a set for myself and start doing mental Zumba.

We all had so much fun while learning how important it is to keep our bodies, hearts and minds healthy. But more than the fun and the learning, it was great bonding with other women at the Women’s Business Council .

Ably led by its chairperson, Ma. Aurora “Boots” Geotina- Garcia, WBC provides a platform for discussing women’s issues in business and finding solutions to challenges women face in the conduct of their business.  WBC is working with the Department of Trade and Industry to organize the Public Private Dialogue on Women and the Economy (PPDWE) for APEC Women and the Economy in September 2015.  And it looks like we’ll be very busy mounting this.

So, is it possible to die of a broken heart?  According to Leni, yes. Can it be cured?  Yes.  Can we delay the onset of dementia?  According to Gina, yes.  So, ladies, let’s start living healthy.