Why do we celebrate International Women’s Month?
To answer this, let’s turn the pages of history to New York City circa 1911. March 25, 1911, is remembered for the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. This is said to be the deadliest industrial disaster in New York’s History. The fire caused the deaths of 146 garment workers. 123 of whom were women and girls who succumbed to smoke inhalation, fire, as well as falling and jumping to their deaths. Many of the victims were of Italian and Jewish immigrant women ranging in age from 14 to 43.
In the Philippines, we’ve adapted March as Women’s Month. Proclamation No. 224, signed by the late and former President, Corazon C. Aquino, designated March 8, 1988, and every year thereafter as Women’s Rights and International Peace Day. It affirmed our country’s solidarity with the United Nations and recognized Filipino women’s contribution in the struggle for national independence, civil liberties, quality, and human rights. Later, the month of March was designated as “Women’s Role in History Month”.
The Women’s Month Celebration in the Philippines serves to highlight women’s achievements. It aims to hold dialogues concerning gender equality issues, concerns, and challenges.
Women all over the world face issues on:
- Patriarchy
- The lack of women in positions of power
- Racism, sexism, economic equality
- Access to equal opportunity
- The lack of consideration when it comes to caregiving
In the Philippines, more than 10 million Filipino women still live in poverty. Rural and indigenous women remain to be the most vulnerable. Maternal mortality and access to reproductive health care services are still pressing concerns.
In recent years, however, and according to borgenproject.org, the Philippines has had great advancements largely due to initiatives by the Philippine government. One of the bigger steps is Republic Act 9262 also known as the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act.
In the year 2015, the Philippines has also moved up in the Global Gender Gap Index from 9th to 7th place. This can be attributed to more economic participation by women, more female legislators, more women in senior and managerial positions, as well as more females in professional and technical work.
In line with this, the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) honors women with a forum held via video conferencing with the following topics:
Topic 1: Women Empowerment: Breaking Through the Glass ceiling
Topic 2: Women Empowerment: A Filipina on the Global Podium
Headed this year by NEARSOL, our lineup of speakers include:
Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworksi, multi-awarded athlete
Ivic Mueco, Board Director of CCAP
Yoly Crisanto, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications and Chief Sustainability Officer of Globe Business
Benedict Hernandez, Chairman of CCAP
Jessica Shields, Vice President – Global Business Services, Devcom
Tonichi Achurra – Parekh, CCAP Board Director, , Country Manager & APAC Regional VP, NEARSOL
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The Great Place to Work-Certified™ Recognition is a global accreditation that tells stakeholders what employees think of the company culture. In brief, it says a lot about the happiness and productivity index in NEARSOL. Certification means people are happy working here and that leadership trust is palpable and real.
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