“Digital is no longer an option. It’s here.”

This was what Ruth Yu-Owen emphasized at the recently concluded The Digital Economy is NOW: Champions of Change Forum organized by Connected Women last March 24, 2021, for International Women’s Day.

Connected Women is a community-driven platform that matches Filipino women with various ways to earn digitally. In the past year, it has also underscored upskilling—preparing women for an ever-changing digital world by offering technology skills training in artificial intelligence data labelling. It was founded by Yu-Owen and Gina Romero, who also serves as its CEO.

One year after the pandemic has locked most of us indoors and forced upon digital change, one group rose to the challenge. Women.

As ironic as it seems, the seismic digital change has pulled women back as much as it has pushed them forward, taking them back into the home to embrace both stereotypical and progressive roles—and so much more. Helping women find their economic fulfilment despite these challenges is Connected Women.

“With the pandemic kicking in last year, we had to do more. Our mission became more,” explained Romero during her opening remarks. “And we accept that challenge.”

Nine speakers joined the event: Sandra Montano (chairperson, Philippine Commission on Women), Rosalyn Mesina (country program manager, WeEmpower Asia UN Women Philippines), Clare Amador (head of Public Policy, Facebook Philippines), Sitti Djalia (Hataman Mayor of Isabela Basilan), Deborah Anne Tan (vice president/group head for Enterprise Risk Management, PLDT Group), Amal Makhloufi (country lead and general manager, Sanofi Philippines), Blesila Lantayona (undersecretary, Regional Operations Group- DTI), Lina Sarmiento (Deputy Director-General, TESDA), and Joy Munsayac (Public Affairs and Sustainability manager, Coca-Cola Philippines).

The Digital Economy is NOW: Champions of Change Forum was hosted by Mica Pineda and moderated by Yu-Owen.

The pandemic and women entrepreneurs

The numbers themselves are enough to illustrate how staggering the economic effects of the global pandemic have been, particularly for female entrepreneurs.

A 2020 survey conducted by Facebook, together with the World Bank and OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), revealed that 35% of Philippine SMEs have had to downsize their workforce; 46% of local businesses reported a decline in sales of at least 50% compared to 2019. “The same percentage,” said Amador, “expected cash-flow challenges to persist.”

According to Amador, women-led enterprises were more vulnerable since women were more likely to operate micro-businesses and less likely to receive financial support. “We also learned that businesses where women are involved, like tourism, hospitality, beauty, and wellness, were more affected by lockdown measures.”

A Facebook survey also showed the worsened inequality gap between men and women amid this digital transformation. “From 460,000 people on Facebook in 200 countries, women earn less than men and spend more time on unpaid domestic work. Nearly 52% of women globally have no internet access. They are also disadvantaged in a work-from-home setup,” added Amador.

Connected Women is Facebook’s program partners in the Philippines for #SheMeansBusiness, a program created to support women’s economic empowerment by providing digital skills training and avenues to deepen and expand their business connections and networks.

The program has helped train over 20,000 Filipina entrepreneurs on digital marketing, business resiliency, and financial literacy.

Women for the future

But challenges give birth to opportunity.

The mere fact that people are talking about this inequality is enough, said Yu-Owen. “We don’t know who could be listening.”

Fortunately, women talk, and women help women. Many programs have already been set up to guide women in finding better footing in this digital space—from Facebook’s She Means Business to Connected Women’s Elevate AIDA (Artificial Intelligence Data Annotation) program, which offers online skills development and remote work opportunities in the artificial intelligence industry, particularly for stay-at-home women. Upskilling projects include data labeling, remote work, professional communication, and computer skills, which are all scalable in the digital remote workspace. Coca-Cola’s decade-long STAR (Sari-Sari Store Training and Access to Resource) program has even been adapted to the times iSTAR, converted traditional training modules to 80% online and 20% face-to-face coaching sessions.

“It’s vital [for women] to uplift their digital skills, adapt their business to the context of the pandemic,” said Amador. “Inclusive economic empowerment can happen through inclusive digital literacy programs and improved access to connectivity, so women can unlock their potential to learn and grow for many years to come.”

Connectivity means democracy

Mayor Djalia did not mince words when she talked about Isabela, calling it “problematic.” But the digital economy opened new avenues for growth that she didn’t even think of: It democratized opportunity.

Technology has shown her how “even a problematic town like Isabela could be ahead and lead the way.” Djalia, who pledged to put her small city on the map, no matter what, added, “The digital world has put us all on equal footing. The digital economy is something that we can jump into and be at par with the rest of the world.”

Her first step happened in November 2020. Connected Women held a five-day online Elevate AIDA training seminar to a group of young Isabela women, enabling them with skills that are apt for digital work. But for the mayor, these sessions did more than put them on equal footing. It helped them stand on their own feet.

“It was a partnership. Equals. This wasn’t charity. These are people who believed in us, who believed in our capacity, that we are contributors and not just recipients,” she said during the forum.

More for women

Despite the tragedies caused by the pandemic, inspiring stories such as Djalia’s continue to rouse hope for women.

According to Munsayac, last year, over 50% of sari-sari stores and 90% of carinderias shut down. A more crucial fact? Among the 1.2 million micro-business owners of this kind, 80% are owned by women. Those that didn’t close, however, thrived.

“The sari-sari store and carinderia became the unintended front liner,” said Munsayac. When restaurants were closed and supermarkets were bombarded, the neighborhood corner shop became a convenient place to source essential goods.

A graduate of STAR, sari-sari store owner Ate Baby in Taguig, grew her business by 30% during the lockdown by opening a Facebook page and taking online orders.

According to Lantayona, the number of women-owned businesses in the last five years have increased by an average of 2% annually. “Last year, 52% of the 937,000 total number of new businesses were women-owned. This is indicative of the growing number of women entrepreneurs.”

With the right training, the right access, and the right opportunities, there is nothing that is stopping women from taking their chances in today’s digital economy.

“We just need to give them something a little further up the value chain,” said Tan “I’ve always believed that women are the backbone of our society and if we help them, we help everyone.” Smart-PLDT is also currently partnered with Connected Women for the Elevate AIDA program.

To learn more about women in the new, digital normal, watch the Digital Economy is NOW: Champions of Change Forum by joining the Connected Women Philippines Facebook Group.