GCash regularly holds GTalks as a
space to engage stakeholders about social issues relevant to Filipinos,
including gender inequality. For "GTalks: The Next Generation", the
first of a series of conversations this year, GCash recognized the value of
bringing women leaders in technology and students together, so they can be
empowered to pursue a career in STEM despite the challenges being faced by
women in the industry.
The challenges remain startling. Based
on the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2023, only 29.2% of the
global STEM workforce are women.
Encouraging Young Women to Pursue STEM
in Higher Education
The challenge of getting more women to
join and thrive in STEM careers starts during their formative years.
Xavier Alpasa, Center Advisory
Committee Member of the TESDA Women Center, noted that young women are
conditioned at a very young age to think “math is tough” or that there is a
spatial skills disparity because of how toys for girls are designed. This was
corroborated by Marie Aubrey Villaceran, Director of the UP Center for Women’s
and Gender Studies, who shared that gender norms and stereotypes have affected
fields, skill sets, and even ways of thinking or doing.
“We have a 2019 baseline study on women
in STEM, and one of the things that did not encourage them is the lack of
representation. There were no role models,” Villaceran explained.
“Representation matters. ‘I feel seen, and I feel like I can belong here.’”
Alpasa pointed out that the available
support and training remain to be insufficient and offered his “3M” guidance.
“First it means—there should be greater access to support for formal and
informal education. Second is mentorship—we need more women leaders, and girls
need to talk to someone who has made it. Third is metric—we need to measure the
share of women in any space,” he said.
Enabling more young women to thrive in
STEM careers have to do with taking advantage of available opportunities and
tools, as well as changing the narrative.
Michelle Alarcon, co-founder of For
the Women, emphasized that digital platforms have allowed anyone anywhere to
learn, and these have benefited many women. For the Women provides free
scholarships for data science for underprivileged women, and the foundation’s
experience shows that technology can level the playing field for women in terms
of access to opportunities.
The broader challenge is on changing
the narrative. Department of Information and Communications Technology
Cybercrime Investigation and Coordination Center (DICT-CICC) Assistant
Secretary Mary Rose Magsaysay stated that based on her experience women are
better investigators than men.
“Change the narrative and the way we
say things—always go with the positive. When we open our mouths, we start directing
and leading,” Magsaysay stated.
The experience of many women leaders
in the STEM fields is that gender should not define what’s possible for them.
“My advice? Just excel. You will find
opportunities to create more spots for other girls. Leaders create
opportunities. To be able to lead, you have to excel first. When you excel in
the game, you can change the rules,” Alarcon emphasized
Cultivating an Inclusive Workplace
GCash Chief Data Officer Sara
Venturina emphasized the importance of having women leaders in an organization,
stating that this can be empowering and could lead to positive change.
“Women leaders are important in an
organization, and there must be leadership commitment in creating a diverse and
inclusive environment for women to thrive in tech,” Venturina said. “Having
women leaders can mean inclusive hiring, flexible work arrangements, and more
leadership and upskilling opportunities.”
Venturina noted that it is important
for companies to not only look inward, but also outward, to cultivate a more
inclusive work environment for women. “GCash is intentional in collaborating
with government, the academe, and even NGOs to help women flourish more in the
industry. When it comes to partnerships with the academe, we have internships available
for young women. We also support non-formal channels for women in tech, such as
our partnership with For the Women and Connected Women. Upskilling in fields
like AI is not just about developing new skills, but also helping them in their
financial journey, which aligns with GCash’s Finance for All vision,” she said.
Meanwhile, both Department of Trade
and Industry (DTI) Assistant Secretary Leonila Baluyut, and physicist and Miss
Earth 2017 Karen Ibasco highlighted the discrimination women can face and,
therefore, must overcome in the workplace. Baluyut acknowledged that much more
needs to be done by the Philippines to achieve economic independence, pointing
out that while most microentrepreneurs are women, the men step in when the
businesses grow.
Despite these challenges, both the
public and private sectors are working toward creating opportunities for women,
including DTI’s Startup Pinay initiative to get more women to be startup
founders, as well as other efforts to help women entrepreneurs—which all
Filipino women must be able to enjoy and take advantage of.
GCash remains committed to building a
society that enables women from all fields, especially in the male-dominated
STEM industry, to maximize their potential and impact. By setting the stage for
meaningful and thought-provoking conversations through GTalks, GCash hopes to
spark change so all Filipinos can thrive in a more inclusive society.
.jpg)
