On a rainy Wednesday evening last August 10 at A SPACE Makati, ladies (and some gentlemen) took their seats as they listened to three inspiring stories of women who have stepped up in their chosen fields of expertise.

Hosted at A Space Manila, Camille Escudero, President of the Business and Professional Women Makati opened the session featuring three women in the field of STEAM – Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics. The speakers included Stephanie Sy as founder and CEO of Thinking Machines Data Science; Reinabelle Reyes Ph.D., a Filipina scientist, writer, teacher, and public speaker; and Sher Bautista, a freelance screenwriter and filmmaker for film and TV. The talk was moderated by BPW founding trustee and Corporate Affairs of McCann Worldgroup Philippines, Nina Terol.

Opening the discussion was BPW founding chair and former Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Delia Albert. Miss Albert gave a brief overview of BPW, and she said, “There is a need for women in the Philippines to get connected to each other and the world. BPW is one of the few organizations which has survived for more than 90 years as a global forum for business and professional women. What’s in it for everybody? When you go out of the Philippines and you have a directory of the BPW, you can call on anyone and they will come see you. It’s a wonderful way to get linked and more and more, the world is getting smaller and we all have to get connected.”

Since 2006, the World Economic Forum has done a study on the Gender Equity Index on how a world of 135 countries has narrowed the gender gap. The only country that has consistently been in the top 10 is the Philippines. Miss Albert said, “We started in 2006 as number nine, and now we are at number five or six, after the Nordic countries of Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, and Finland, which is something we can be proud of. However, my challenge was when I came back and retired as a diplomat. I said, “Fine, the Filipino woman is up there, but I find a different gap in the Philippines –  it’s not the gender gap, but a vertical gap between the women who have it all and women who don’t have anything.”

With this, Miss Albert undertook a project called “Solar Lolas” in which a group of women engineers send illiterate indigenous women to India for six months and them how to make solar lamps which last for 10 years, providing livelihood. “This is part of what we’re doing to narrow down the vertical gap. It has been my mission since I retired from foreign service,” Miss Albert concluded.

Apart from this, Miss Albert also made an important announcement, urging women to attend the Global Summit of Women to be held in Japan on May 11 to 14, 2017. She said that the summit is a chance for young entrepreneurs and professional women to “get exposed to a global summit” with an expected attendance of over 1,400 women from 95 countries.

Stephanie Sy

Stanford University graduate, former Google Product Analyst

Stephanie Sy discussed her Chinese educational background, her time at Stanford University and being a woman in the tech industry – particularly, that of Silicon Valley. She returned to the Philippines and she had thought about a couple of factors – “Owing a debt not just to my family, but to my country.” She shared that, while staying in the US might have been better for her as an individual, the move back to the Philippines has had more impact in an entrepreneurial way, in the growth and opportunities for people.

Speaking of the existing gender divide in Silicon Valley, Stephanie said, “Race, age, and gender discrimination are real issues in Silicon Valley. Gender equality is something I think the Philippines does better than the Bay Area, even in the tech industry.”

She added, “As we get further into our careers, my women friends in the Bay Area are hitting the glass ceiling as they try to move from being managers or software team leads into senior management roles. A lot of it is unspoken discrimination, unfortunately.”

“I want to build my company as a Filipino company; I want us as a whole to move from being BPO-based into that next stage up the value chain, and that’s something I feel strongly about. You can be a Filipino company that competes on the same level as companies in San Francisco, New York, and so on.”

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Reinabelle Reyes

Filipina scientist; obtained a Ph.D. in Astrophysics from Princeton University

After studying for her Ph.D. in the United States for eight years, Reinabelle came back to the Philippines in 2014. She shared that, early on, she had a strong curiosity for science. Back then, she didn’t have role models and didn’t know how to become a scientist. The science journey started for her in Philippine Science High School where she fell in love with physics and then learned the fundamentals in Ateneo De Manila, later completing a program in Italy and, eventually, got her foot in the door at Princeton University.

She said, “My stepping stone was a program in Italy. Princeton called my professor who was connected to the university – and it’s all about connections. What’s good about Princeton is that they look at your potential and not your record.

“These international linkages by Filipino scientists are important, paving the way for more Filipino scientists. In a Ph.D., you learn how to learn. I think all of us has to learn that skill, and it’s a skill in confidence.”

She jokingly shared that it was because of an early mid-life crisis that she chose to came back to the Philippines. She thought about the long term: “I wanted to become a scientist. I saw myself in 20 years, imagining myself at a university in the U.S.; but for what? I came back here and spoke at the Mind Museum and saw the interest – that there’s proof that you can do something to grow.”

She later came back to Ateneo to teach and do research. She was recruited into the private sector for data science, and she’s dividing her time between consulting companies, teaching, and research. Reinabelle said, “I’m still figuring it out, but it really opened up the horizon and I’m happy that I get to do what I’m good at and keep learning and earn enough to not feel like it’s a sacrifice to come back. We are leaving and the question is, “Will they come back?” It’s a very personal thing and it’s a matter of ecosystem and opportunities.”

Sher Bautista

Left her corporate job to pursue a film degree; now a freelance screenwriter

Sher worked in corporate for eight years, but was unsatisfied by sitting in a cubicle. She took her savings, quit her job and went to film school. She said, “I started at the bottom – and I started late at 28. I was so naïve, I had no grand plan but to graduate and get a job offer in Manila.

“What happened in the seven years since I graduated from film school – I did my internship in Shanghai. There were a lot of times that I questioned my sanity, even quitting three times. After a short stint at a production house, I quit and lived on the beach for a few months until I ran out of money. I thought that I had more to share. There was a reason for me that I quit my job and took that course and wanted to become a writer.”

Sher is currently filming a documentary entitled Strong Girls Initiative, which is about women empowerment. “It’s about how young girls are told things. ‘You’re so dark’ or ‘Why don’t you have a boyfriend?’ Subconsciously, we grow up and we’re carrying those messages. What this documentary aims to accomplish is that little girls should know that it’s okay. Being dark is beautiful; if you don’t have kids, that’s fine. Don’t let an adult or boyfriend tell you that is not enough.

“This is me telling you guys that your jobs or businesses are your passions – what makes you wake up in the morning? Being a writer is a lonely job. I get that high when I finish a screenplay. Writing is a solo endeavor. But it makes me happy. Keep your passion.”

Find out about upcoming BPW Makati Events on their Facebook Page!

BPW Makati – Women Stepping Up
BPW Makati’s mission is to develop the leadership competencies of professional Filipina women and support women SMEs.
#WomenSteppingUp #BPWmakati
www.womensteppingup.org

A SPACE Philippines
A SPACE is the leading coworking space in the Philippines, with cowork spaces, event venues, meeting rooms and private offices in Manila.
#apsacetogather
www.aspacemanila.com
110 Legazpi Street, Makati, 1229 Kalakhang Maynila

^{Edited by Amber Valencia
Image credit:  ASpace Manila}