Women as economic drivers

When I  joined the Women’s Business Council of the Philippines some eight years ago, I found myself amidst all these powerful businesswomen who I only saw in summits, in conferences and in newspaper features. I remember Lorna Kapunan and Sabsy Palanca, who I later found out were the founding trustees of what is now also called WomenBizPH. Yes, we adopted a shorter name and a name that will not be confused with Wild Bird Club of the Philippines, as the latter also has WBCP as its initials.

WomenBizPH is chaired by SGV alumna Boots Garcia, with yours truly as president and Chiqui Escareal-Go of Mansmith and Fielders as vice president. We have prepared a good mix of speakers for our upcoming summit, knowing that many women wish to learn and be inspired by successful women who have broken the proverbial glass ceiling or have crossed territorial lines of what was once known as male-dominated industries like automobiles, coffee and even BPOs.

Another group that recently (November 2013) also held a Women’s Conference is BPW or Business and Professional Women-Makati City chapter headed by my ECHOstore partner Jeannie Javelosa. BPW is a younger, more diverse group embracing professionals, artists and entrepreneurs. It belongs to the global BPW International whose active president Frida Miriklis will soon meet all of us in Jeju, South Korea for the BPW International Summit.

BPW Makati had a diverse speaker lineup, some on Skype, some live and in person like the Rockefeller group’s Peggy Dulany of Synergos Foundation and our very own women advocate Senator Grace Poe.

Then, yet another women’s group in business was formed last March 2013, this time to gather all women in corporate boards. The Women Corporate Directors Philippine chapter was formed by Doris Ho, Vivian Yuchengco, country co-chairs Mariels Almeda- Winhoffer, Myla Villanueva, Tina Tan and yours truly. The global co-chair Henrietta Fore came last year and invited us to form the group, and in March we were all inducted by global co-chair Susan Stautberg. You can check the site www.corporatedirectors.com and if you wish to join us, send me an e-mail. Boots Garcia and I will be joining the New York Institute this May, and will be hosting roundtables at the event. Our other member, Jollibee’s Susan Tanmantiong, will be a speaker at the same conference.

And last but not least, we also formed the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) Philippine chapter, with women in the coffee value chain, from farmer to retailer. www.womenincoffee.org is the international group and they have also designated me as mentor for the Asia-Pacific together with another Filipina, Kat Mulingtapang, a Certified Q Grader (she cups coffee for a living) and Certified Instructor as well.

Now, why do we have all these groups, all on women in business and women in coffee? Women account for half the world’s population and have in their hands almost a trillion dollars to spend.

If ASEAN has 600 million people, women are more than three billion in number, all over the world. This is why we need to listen to women in corporate boards, listen to women in different professions and engage women in the trade of coffee, too.

WomenBizPH will showcase many of these women models, exemplars and mentors at the 3rd Women’s Business Summit on March 6, at the Mandarin Oriental hotel. We have lined up a most impressive – it may even be safe to say formidable – list of speakers and panelists, the likes of Josette Biyo, Mel Alonzo, Karmi Palafox, Gina Lorenzana, Inez Reyes, Issa Baron, Baby Nuesa, and many other surprise personalities who will lead us into thinking “ahead of the curve” and  how to “compete for the future.” A special lunch panel on ASEAN Integration will be handled by former Foreign Affairs secretary and ambassador Delia Domingo-Albert with an expert from the DTI, Rafaelita Aldaba.

Check our website (www.womenbiz.ph) or facebook page: WomenbizPH. Or contact us on Twitter: @womenbizph. You can register and ask about student, government and early bird rates. We encourage gender and development focal persons to join us so public and private partnerships can be formed to further advance the situation of women who want to succeed in business.

Oh, and men may join as well. After all, gender sensitivity is key in reaching common goals and having everyone on the same page.