Women voices (Part I)

THE WHOLE month of March is dedicated to every woman in whatever size, shape, age, colour, or faith. Woman Lens will feature their voices in this column.

* What does empowerment mean to me?

In yoga-speak, empowerment is awakening the individual self. It is realizing one’s potential as a human being. It is awareness that there is power within us and how we use this power to inspire and encourage others.

Once we discover our true authentic self, we become more confident to embrace and share compassion, happiness and love, bringing it into our relationships and the world at large. Carmela Taylor, Registered Yoga Teacher since 2017 (Canadian Yoga Alliance) and Co-Owner since 1998 (Carmichael Enterprises Residential Programs)

* The essence of a woman

Woman, do you embrace your true essence? Your intuition, your intelligence, your kindness, and your power? If yes, let’s celebrate! Celebrate with me as I celebrate with you.

I celebrate with all the empowered women! Fearless and unapologetic, never ashamed of the past. Let us remember our rights and exercise them. Because these are the rights that we have fought for; that our grandmothers have fought for generations ago.

Let us not let other people forget and let us not allow them to determine nor validate our self-worth. Because our worth is exponential.  We are honest and kind. Honesty and kindness are not weaknesses; they may even be our strengths. We are not perfect. We accept our flaws as an essential part of who we are. And that is beautiful.

An empowered woman never stops learning as she inspires others. Together, let us take time to nurture ourselves – physically, emotionally, and spiritually as we prepare to be of service to our family, our country, and humanity. – Alfie Custodio, PhD (Economist/ Teacher/ Mother)

* A woman and leader in a male-dominated work place

As a licensed female civil engineer, I have engaged in various male-dominated assignments and have been typecast as “one of the boys”. Some say it is admirable to know that the best “man” for the job is actually a woman. Let me summarize my experiences as a woman leader in public service – from being head of inspection of the Office of the Building Official; heading the City Economic Management and Cooperative Development Office; eventually working as Director for Infrastructure Cluster under the Office of the Cabinet Secretary; and now back to handling transportation concerns of the City of General Santos.

In all my assignments, being a woman is actually an advantage as our innate ability to multi-task, assess the situation from various perspectives, our compassionate and emphatic nature allowed me to sensitize plans, humanize interventions, and soften the soil of resistance and opposition. A woman’s yielding yet tenacious personality exhibits both flexibility and strength necessary to get things done.

As a woman leader, I think with my heart and feel with my mind; vulnerable but resilient; reasonable yet compassionate. Ambivalent as I am for most of the time, still, I am able to maintain harmony between family and career. For me, the essence of being a woman leader is BALANCE. Riza Marie T. Paches, CE, EnP, Meng’g. (Public Servant/ Mother/ Teacher)

* A woman and educator in the field of engineering

Having a profession that is said to be the enclave of men is never easy especially during the early years of my civil engineering practice. I might have been able to compete with male engineers in terms of planning and design, but considering that I have always been fragile and ladylike, assignment in actual construction had always been a big challenge. Thus, the shift of career from a government civil engineer to an engineering educator – the latter paving the way for me to promote gender awareness, sensitivity, and equality in a field that is said to be “male-dominated”. 

My role as an engineering educator is not confined to teaching future engineers about technical and professional subjects; it has expanded to creating a school environment that enables students of all genders to feel comfortable to learn and grow.

At first, I thought that being in the academe is easier than working in construction, but I was wrong because as a woman engineering educator, I needed to be an engineer, an educator, an affectionate adviser and mentor, a guidance counselor, and a mother to a whole college, rolled into one. – Engr. Shiela A. Soriño, EnP, MEE (Dean, College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology)

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For comments, you may reach the writer at belca.87@gmail.com./PN

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