Who run the world
MANILA, Philippines - I love women. I love women who love other women. Having always been a girl’s girl, perhaps a leftover quality from my early all-girl Catholic school education, I’ve always had a lively carousel of amazing women in my life. My gentle mother, iron-fisted nanny, and a plethora of girl friends were just the beginning. I didn’t even really know any boys I wasn’t related to until I was 16. There were many hair-braiding sessions that turned into sleepovers that cemented lifelong friendships. GNOs (that’s Girls Night Out, for the uninitiated) where we held back each other’s hair during less-than-graceful moments that turned into bridal fittings complete with a bevy of excited bridesmaids louder than a gaggle of geese. There was no shortage of women we loved to worship growing up: Madonna, Kylie and Beyoncé. Audrey, Jackie and Grace. Kate (there is only one), Miuccia and Anna. We were privileged to grow up in a time, place and circumstances that allowed us to cherry-pick women whose qualities resonated in us at such an impressionable age — still deciding who we were going to be.
One beautiful thing about being a woman is the sense of sisterhood and camaraderie that stems from being a once (and often still) marginalized group. Though we are half of the global population, equal stakeholders in the world we live in, this world often is not built for us. That is slowly changing, but still not fast enough. Just look at how hard we had to fight for women to have the simple access to free and factual information to make informed choices about their own bodies through passage of the RH Bill of 2012. It was fought at every turn by every possible institution, but even its verified constitutionality as of last year does not mean its detractors have given up. That’s why we need to be sisters. That’s why we can leave no woman behind. It’s a beautiful thing when women can come together and celebrate each other. Perhaps it is the optimist in me, but rather than focus on how we can be seen and even bred to compete, I like to see how we inspire each other. It is why women such as Diane von Furstenberg are so well loved. She is a cultivator of women’s talent, beauty and passion.
In the wake of International Women’s Day, I look around and see incredible women making strides in our fair city. While I have my share of icons, like the unshakable Lee Radziwill, the unapologetic Wallis Simpson, and the force-of-nature Eve Ensler, here is a noteworthy assemblage of women to tell us who has inspired them to be the beacons of style and substance that they are today.
“It’s so easy and convenient for a lot of people to chuck the success of a person working for her parents or family business as being ‘COO’ or ‘Child Of Owner.’ Ivanka Trump has, through her hard work and dedication, proved that she is more than just her father’s daughter. And instead of shunning this privilege or family name, she’s used it as an opportunity to celebrate family and her pride in being a Trump. Apart from her family business, she has done well in establishing her own jewelry line, is a successful book author and her website (ivankatrump.com) celebrates the women of our times through her #WomenWhoWork campaign which is about ‘emboldening and encouraging women to live the lives that they want to live.’” – Cheryl Tiu
“Marian Goodman. Arguably the most important, definitely the most respected, gallerist. Working hard for her artists at the ripe age of 83.” – Isa Lorenzo
“Diana Vreeland, former editor in chief of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. Diana was a force of fashion during the 20th century. She was always innovating, always looking for ways to showcase fashion in a new light. This relentless search to reinvent and innovate inspires me when it comes to my work as a dermatologist. I don’t rest on my laurels, I have a keen eye on the latest techniques and technology when it comes to dermatology and aesthetics.” – Aivee Aguilar-Teo
“It’s a toss-up between Oprah and Maya Angelou. Women that were able to coax out and cradle a brand of honesty that helped heal millions from an important and otherwise ignored kind of hurt. Women that demonstrated the incredible power of the spoken and written word. Women that didn’t let race, gender discrimination, or socially constructed standards of beauty seed any limits in their lives. Bloody awesome.”– Sarah Meier
“Working in fashion, I really have an affinity for the women behind some of fashion’s biggest brands: Jenna Lyons (of J.Crew), Tori Burch, Phoebe Philo (of Celine), Stella McCartney. They are designers, creatives, business leaders, tastemakers and mothers. Aside from seeing a part of me in their brand story, I love that they have a singular vision of what they want, and everything follows that: fashion, lifestyle, business. I believe it’s important to look for modern-day role models because they show you what’s possible to achieve today.” – Pauline Suaco-Juan
“Who I am today, and who I want to become in the future, has and continues to be a culmination of traits from women that I admire. I borrow guidance from Marissa Mayer’s drive, Mother Teresa’s devout altruism, and through each of the inspirational women I interact with on a daily basis. However, if I were to pick one woman who embodies all this, it would be Lyndsey Scott — because of her defiance of the status quo, her brilliance, and her benevolent heart. Scott, by day, is a wildly successful model for some of the biggest names in the fashion industry, and by night a computer programmer. Few people know that Scott taught herself Python, Objective C and iOS, and built a few apps, one that even sponsors young Ugandan scholars. What Scott shows the world, and reminds me, is that there are no boundaries in terms of a career, race or gender — and that getting exactly what you want out of life is merely a series of choices controlled by you.” – Kat Ramnani
