Today is International Women’s Day (IWD). The theme for this year is ‘DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality’. The United Nations (UN) recognizes and celebrates the women and girls who are championing the advancement of transformative technology and digital education.
Also today, around the world, the UN expects a lot of discussions will be conducted to explore the impact of the digital gender gap on widening economic and social inequalities. And on March 15, our Tristar Group CEO, Mr. Eugene Mayne, will join a CEO roundtable discussion about ‘A Gender Equal Future of Work in the Digital Age’ at the UN Headquarters in New York. “Unprecedented changes are impacting the work environment, including technological advances, social and demographic shifts, new patterns of globalization, climate change, and the gig economy. These trends are disrupting traditional models of work and learning, the nature of jobs, and the composition of workforces,” noted Sanda Ojiambo, Assistant Secretary-General, CEO & Executive Director of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). Our company, Tristar Group, is a signatory to the UNGC since 2011 with compliance to the principles of human rights, anti-corruption, labour, and environment. It is also signatory to the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP). We support the advancement and advocacy of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals
On a personal side, I would like to share my experiences on IWD for the past three years.
2020: More than 70 participants and volunteers, mostly Filipino women from Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain, attended on March 7 the 6th FEME Forum where they were advised to set personal goals that are SMART or significant, meaningful, action-oriented, rewarding and trackable. FEME stands for Filipino Excellence in the Middle East.
Singapore-based Mel Rose Angeles, Director for HR of Pan Pacific Serviced Suites, said that everyone should practice the SMART goals. “Personal goal setting is a powerful process for thinking about your ideal future and for motivating yourself to turn your vision of this future into reality,” she explained.
Philippine-based businesswoman Elsie Chua shared her entrepreneurial journey starting at the age of 10 and as founding president and CEO of real estate company CDC Holdings, Inc. “You will not be able to sustain the hardships if you are not passionate about what you are doing. Before others believe in you, you have to first believe in your product and in yourself,” she said. “Good times, I am grateful for the blessings. Bad times, I am grateful for the lessons. Always be grateful from above, your staff, your employees, your suppliers, your clients and shareholders.”
Long-time UAE residents Agnes Aquino-Briggs and Cristina Magallon also equipped the participants on Empowered Look and Personal Branding in the Digital World, respectively. Image and Style consultant Aquino-Briggs said that according to studies it only takes three seconds to make a first impression. “Your business clothing should tell the story and establish your authority, portray your experience, and reveal your level of success – all in one single glance,” she explained.
Magallon who has 95,000 followers on LinkedIn encouraged the women to have their own accounts on the social media site. “On LinkedIn, people are in a business mindset. If you have a business then this is the platform to be in especially in the UAE which is the most connected country on the platform,” she disclosed.
2021: Philippine Ambassador to the UAE, Hjayceelyn ‘Joy’ Quintana, celebrated International Women’s Month on March 19 in a virtual forum attended by around 70 Filipinos who were mostly women entrepreneurs, professionals and community leaders based in the UAE.
She said at the 7th FEME Forum that while the Philippines has achieved great strides on issues of gender equality and woman empowerment, the pandemic has added another layer of difficulties at home, in the schooling of children, joblessness, and even violence against women.
Ambassador Quintana commended the convenors of the forum and called on the women participants to commit to a higher level of involvement in policy and decision-making. “Let our practical instincts, caring attitude, and profound insights as women influence the way society employ quick, decisive, and effective action in facing the new and ever-changing circumstances we live in,” she added.
She also answered questions from the participants and shared her insights and experiences as a woman ambassador, specially during this period of the pandemic. Ambassador Quintana then highlighted the need to have a clear understanding of one’s role and the importance of having a clear perspective and the right context in addressing problems and dealing with issues.
The forum’s moderator, Cristina Calaguian, Managing Director of DAGAZ HR and Consultancy, commented: “It doesn’t matter how or why anyone, man or woman, comes into a position of responsibility. All that matters is how and what you deliver.”
2022: I honored my wife Rachel Salinel as a Woman of Inspiration under the category ‘Women at Home’ at the 1st Filipino Women & Sustainability Forum organized by the Filipino Social Club – Dubai on March 27.
I said that my wife during the past two years, at the height of the lockdown and then the spread of Delta and Omicron variants, was able to contribute considerably to our CFC global community, to the Filipino communities in UAE, KSA, Mozambique and other countries, and to TFC News as a ‘daughter of God, as a mental health awareness advocate, and as a veteran broadcast journalist without forgetting her role as a wife and mother.
I treat my wife and women as having the same intellect, competencies and potential as men. I therefore would like to declare that March 8 is not the only International Women’s Day but it is every day.