Category Archives: competence

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

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

1 Comment

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

competence, Confidence, Friendship, Uncategorized, Women, Work

Women Stepping Up

1 Comment

Are women naturally competitive? Is it true they cannot stand having another woman shine brighter than they do?  Is jealousy natural?  Does crab mentality apply to the supposedly gentler sex?  Or is it possible for women to help other women, and feel good about it?  These were questions going through my mind last week as I attended two women’s events: WomenBiz Talks organized by the Women’s Business Council Philippines, and two days later, Women’s Talk Network Night organized by the Business and Professional Women (BPW) Makati.

Thursday night, I attended the Women’s Talk Network Night at the Society Lounge upon the invitation of my friend, Jeannie Javelosa. Although I’ve known of Jeannie for many years as being creative partner of PR competitor, EON, and a co-founder of ECHO Store and ECHOsi Foundation along with another good friend, Chit Juan, it was not until Jeannie and I were speakers last November at the UN Women’s Conference in Barcelona that I really got to talk to her.  We had a wonderful time exploring this beautiful city together (See my blog post on that memorable trip with Jeannie).

IMG_3015

Arriving at the venue already teeming with women and buzzing with their chatter, I was happy to see Ambassador Delia Albert seated with Marivic Anonuevo, and promptly joined them. I had the good fortune of meeting Manang Delia as she is fondly called by her mentees during the APEC Women and the Economy Summit in Bali last year, and got to know her better during the Sababay Winery tour of the Gozali family, and the gala dinner.

IMG_3029Manang Delia is chair of BPW Makati and head of the APEC WEF Private Sector Steering Committee.  A real trooper, Manang Delia went up to the stage during the gala dinner to sing Dahil sa Iyo with the guest performer, effectively breaking the ice and starting a rousing competition for the best love song among the different nationalities present. Despite her diminutive exterior, Manang Delia cuts an impressive figure and commands attention and respect because of her intelligence, her wit, her strength of character, and deep passion for helping her kababayans, especially Filipinas. I remember her saying it was important to bring together all the accomplished business and professional Filipinas to help in the hosting of the APEC Women and the Economy Forum in 2015. This way, we can change the perception of foreigners that we are a nation of OFWs and househelp, she said.  And that was exactly what she was doing Thursday night, urging the accomplished guests attending the cocktails to step up for the APEC WEF meeting.

IMG_3030After Manang Delia’s appeal, it was Jeannie’s turn to introduce BPW Makati to the guests.  Jeannie is founding president of BPW Makati, a local chapter of the Business and Professional Women (BPW) Foundation in the Philippines that espouses the Women’s Empowerment Principles of the U.N. Aptly called Equality Means Business, the Principles emphasize the business case for corporate action to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment. While BPW has monthly networking opportunities to enjoy, Jeannie cautioned that membership in BPW Makati is open only to those interested to work towards putting the principles to work.  No place for fluff here.

The seven principles include (1) establishing high-level corporate leadership and gender equality; (2) treating all women and men fairly at work, respecting and supporting human rights and nondiscrimination; (3) ensuring the health, safety and well-being of all women and men workers; (4) promoting education, training and professional development for women; (5) implementing enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices that empower women; (6) promoting equality through community initiatives and advocacy; and (7) measuring and publicly reporting on progress to achieve gender equality.  In short, BPW Makati empowers women to help other women succeed and achieve their potential.

IMG_3040IMG_3039Next up, Chit Juan, BPW Makati External VP and former president of the League of Corporate Foundations, together with Luvy Villanueva, director of the Philippine Commission on Women, spoke about their GREAT Women Platform, short for Gender Responsive Economic Actions for the Transformation of Women. By helping small and medium women-run businesses package their products attractively, take advantage of the supply chain, and promote and market them effectively, women entrepreneurs get a better chance at succeeding in business.

For instance, who would have thought that the lowly suka (vinegar) can be packaged into coveted artisanal fare and exported overseas? Or that bottled taba ng talangka (crab fat) is now gourmet fare? And did we know that we can make use of the 5% mandated Gender and Development (GAD) budget of the government when selling our products and services?  We learned about best practices for promoting gender equality, from PLDT’s SME ICT platform on the cloud, to Coke’s 5M by 2020 micro-entrepreneur drive, to RCBC’s EWMN financial literacy program that expands women’s potential through SME loans and start-up capital, and to Cherie Blair Foundation’s 6-month online mentoring program for women in business.

IMG_3047Interestingly enough, there was a lone male speaker that night.  Brave man, I thought, to be the only thorn among the roses, until I found out that he was accompanied by his wife.  Intellectual Property Office Director Ric Blancaflor spoke about the male perspective. A firm believer in women’s strengths, he shared that half of his board is composed of women, and 65% of IPO examiners are women. He cited the Filipina qualities he most admires: dedication to duty, bravery and competence and encouraged the women in the room to safeguard their brands by filing for intellectual property rights.

IMG_3053Looking around Society Lounge that night, I saw many powerful women who feel secure about themselves: Manang Delia, Marife Zamora, Chit Juan, Jeannie Javelosa, Karmi Palafox, Mylene Abiva, Emmeline Versoza, Luvy Villanueva, Rambie Lim, to name a few.  Great company indeed.

So, this is a call out to women in business and professions to step up.  Join BPW Makati and let’s share our blessings to help other women succeed.  High time we put girl power to work, right, ladies?

Communication, competence, Governance, Tourism, Women, Work

Do we need women in corporate boards?

1 Comment

 

Do we need women in the Board?

This was the interesting question posed during the WomenBiz Talks organized by the Women’s Business Council Philippines at the Dusit Thani Hotel today, and which sparked a healthy debate.  Aside from being inducted as a member of WomenBiz, I was glad I attended the talk, though I missed attending the Amcham General Membership Meeting next door.

After a hearty lunch of ginisang munggo, laing and adobong manok, and the inevitable photo taking, the intimate group of powerful women tackled the day’s theme.   Chit Juan, president of Echostore Sustainable Lifestyle, opened the discussion with a premise that we need a law to ensure seats in corporate boards, as the addition of women corporate directors results in better decisions and more diversity in outlook.

Atty. Lorna Kapunan, senior partner at Kapunan Garcia & Castillo Law Office, roundly disagreed citing the case of Norway that had passed legislation mandating a 40% woman-man ratio on public limited companies to disappointing results. Because there were not enough competent (aka trained) women corporate directors available, companies forced to take on women to comply with the mandated ratio, quickly saw their stock prices plunge.  To protect themselves from this legislation, about 70% of public limited companies delisted since 2003; while new companies incorporated outside of Norway to avoid this requirement.

Because men and women are wired differently, it was observed that women in boards tend to push for property acquisition rather than leveraged organic growth.  And then there’s the issue of women having other interests, such as having children and taking care of their families. This is not to say that we cannot have women corporate directors, especially in the Philippines.

In the case of companies of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs), it would be disastrous not to have women on the board as they would represent the interests of the consumers, being the ones with the buying power.  There are also industries where women dominate.  One such example is the Tourism Industry, to which I belong.

In the country’s Tourism Promotions Board, for instance, three of the five private sector directors are women: Margarita F. Munsayac, VP of Maribago Blue Water Beach Resort (Representing Accommodation Sector); Margarita F. Villarica, president and general manager of Destination Specialists, Inc. (Representing Travel & Tour Services), and me (Representing Meeting, Incentives Travel, Conventions, Exhibitions & Events Services & Facilities M.I.C.E.Sector).  And on the public sector side, we have Usec. Laura del Rosario of Department of Foreign Affairs, Usec. Fe Reyes of the Department of Trade and Industry, and Usec. Catherine Gonzales of Department of Transportation and Communication.  Clearly, TPB is a woman-dominated board.

According to the International Business Report (IBR) released by local audit company Punongbayan & Araullo and global firm Grand Thornton, on average women comprise about 34% of company boards in the Philippines, which is way above the global average of 19%.  One advantage Filipinas have is the availability of househelp to assist in taking care of the house and children, freeing women to pursue careers in the corporate world.   And I’d like to add the social support system of families.  I don’t think I could have gone very far in business without my beloved mom being there to supervise my yayas in looking after my children and my home.

What advantages do women bring to the board room?  According to a study by Professor of Strategic Management Bart of the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University which polled 624 board directors in Canada, women were more likely to use “co-operation, collaboration and consensus building” when dealing with complex decisions.   Also, women were more likely to take into account interests of multiple stakeholders as they viewed fairness as an important factor in their decision-making.

A Credit Suisse report on gender diversity and corporate performance indicates that companies with women on the board exhibited higher return on equity (ROE) and better average growth.  Catalyst Inc. (2007) showed that Fortune 500 companies with more women on their boards were found to outperform their rivals with return on sales and return on equity.  What could possibly be the reason for the better financial performance?

Credit Suisse proposes that gender diversity signals a better company, with greater effort across the board, a better mix of leadership skills, access to a wider pool of talent, a better reflection of the consumer decision-maker, improved corporate governance, and risk aversion.

Lorna was emphatic that there should be no legislation to mandate appointment of women on corporate boards.  Rather, competence was the only reason women should be on corporate boards.  I totally agree on this point.  And that’s why I am seriously considering Chit’s recommendation to take the Institute of Corporate Directors Course, and help in raising awareness of women to aspire for board seats for greater diversity.