Through the years,
Women's Month has served as a strong platform to celebrate women's achievements
and facilitate discussions on empowerment and gender equality.
|
From left to right: Juliette
Lefort, Political Officer, Embassy of France in the Philippines and
Micronesia, Maica Teves, Executive
Director, SPARK! Philippines, Bernadette
Nacario, Country Director, Google Philippines, Mayen Juico Former Quezon City Councilor and Author of
Gender-Responsive Ordinances, Karen
Lucia Gomez-Dumpit, Former Commissioner Commission on Human Rights, Dr. Maria Teresa Trinidad Tinio, Senior
Vice President for Academic Affairs. Far Eastern University, Pauline Castro, Head of Traffic,
Lazada Philippines, Atty. Jacqueline Ann
de Guia, Executive Director, Commission on Human Rights |
In line with this
year's theme, SPARK! Philippines, a non-government organization (NGO) that
champions causes for women, hosted “#Women2023: Women Forging the Digital
Future” together with the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines, the Embassy of
France in the Philippines and Micronesia, the Philippine Commission on Women
and FEU Institute of Technology.
The
event pooled together various key opinion leaders, policy makers and power
women who shared their insights, best practices and plans in navigating the
digital space to advocate for diversity and inclusion.
Digital media as an
empowerment tool
Digitalization
has played a huge role in transforming our society. Depending on how it's used,
online platforms can help the cause or exacerbate existing gender issues and
concerns.
At
#Women2023, several prominent women shared how digital media can help improve
women's lives. One of them is Google Philippines Country Director Bernadette
Nacario who talked about Digiskarteng Pinay, a digital upskilling program of
the company.
Under
this initiative, Google publishes bite-sized YouTube videos targeted for women
around different topics such as career, entrepreneurship, health and financial
literacy.
“We
have this belief that when we uplift women, we uplift the entire household,
which eventually impacts the society. And the way to do that is to empower
women to acquire new skills even at the comfort of their home,” Nacario said.
With
this, digital media can be a powerful tool in supporting women to pursue their
aspirations, whether that's being a homemaker, having a corporate career or
putting up a business.
Technology for social equity
Pushing
for social change is a collaborative effort between the public and private
sectors. Part of this ecosystem are social enterprises committed to drive
positive change through their ventures.
One
such organization is Rags2Riches (R2R), a fashion & design house that
empowers and celebrates the country’s local artisans. Rags2Riches President and
Founding Partner Reese Fernandez-Ruiz credits the company’s early adoption of
digital technology in R2R’s success.
She
noted that years before the pandemic, the company had already established an
online store and presence in social media channels. She added that their
willingness to participate in the digital landscape early on helped them grow
their business–in numbers and in branding.
“So
the lesson for us is to learn ahead of the need to—when you learn something
when you need to, it might be too late. As early as now, I encourage you to
look into the available digital tools and don’t be scared of them—try them out
and see how you can use them in the future,” she said.
By women, for women
The
fight for gender equality and women empowerment does not stop this month. It
will require consistent and synergistic efforts from the community. #Women2023
encourages women to support fellow women to reach for their goals and embrace
digital innovations as instruments for change.
"This
year’s International Women’s Day theme calls on all of us to wield innovation
and technology in promoting and championing gender equality. Digital media
presents boundless opportunities for us, women. Let us learn it, embrace it,
and use it well,” FEU Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Maria
Teresa Trinidad Tinio said.
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