In 2019, the United Nations released a case study on Filipino women and their role in information and communications technology. Based on its conclusions, the digital divide between genders has roots in inequities in all sides of society—historical, economic, sociocultural, and political. Even in this 21st Century, Filipino males dominate the IT field. In rural areas where families remain staunchly patriarchal, men have the means and access to purchase and maintain mobile phones.

In the Philippine Digital Economy Report 2020 by the National Economic Development Authority and the World Bank, more than half of the country’s total households lack Internet access. It’s an economic limitation that affects Filipino housewives more than working menfolk.

These issues were far from addressed when the pandemic forced a digital lifestyle onto the world. As quickly as this shift, massive efforts have been made to bridge the broadened digital gap caused by COVID-19. For instance, Connected Women’s ELEVATE AIDA program, which trains women in artificial intelligence data annotation, is already on its seventh batch of learners—one year after its launch.

Women have difficulty attaining many of the new jobs created in the post-pandemic digital transformation, revealed Srujana Huerter, program manager of the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), which funded the most recent ELEVATE AIDA batch. Females must be adequately reskilled or upskilled for digital services and technology as well as prepared for the digital workforce.

“ELEVATE AIDA is a prime example of a homegrown business-led solution to COVID-19 recovery efforts focusing on women’s participation in the digital economy,” she added. 

But these efforts are doing more than giving women tools to manage the future. The month-long ELEVATE AIDA program has been a source of hope, inspiration, courage, and confidence. For the final upskilling seminar on September 23, Connected Women invited Batch 7 graduates as well as other alumnae to write an essay describing how the program helped them. The writer of the best essay received a laptop to help launch her digital career.

A second laptop was also given to the top-performing data annotator who is a graduate of the program and actively participating in Connected Women’s data labeling projects. The laptops were donated by Ms Mylene Abiva, President of the Women’s Business Council Philippines and CEO of FELTA Multi-media Inc.

“I was reading the essays and I was really teary-eyed and touched because I know you are trying to make ends meet, and the Connected Women program is providing you with economic independence,” she said in a short speech to congratulate the winners.

Messages of hope

Essay winner Irene Ballester has been unemployed for five years. Her husband, on the other hand, was retrenched during the pandemic. But apart from the lack of experience, Ballester didn’t have the tools to fully participate in the program. In the end, she borrowed a laptop from her neighbor to become one of the top performers in the Text Annotation Project Sentiment Analysis session.

“Connected Women helped me reconnect to the world,” Ballester wrote. “I realized that there’s more for me. Even though I’m here inside our house, there is a support group where I can earn, learn, and take good care of my family at the same time.” To Connected Women, she added, “Thank you for thinking of us—women who have felt neglected, who chose their family first over their career and have become overage. Thank you for giving us a ray of light.”

Similarly, mom-of-two Dyan Eleuterio gave up her career to focus on her family. “It’s a sacrifice of Filipina women who once had a career before marriage to quit and be at home…but I want to break free from [those] notions and be more valuable than I can ever be as a modern Filipina woman,” she wrote. “I can be more than a housewife. I have my ambitions and dreams, too.”

For Eleuterio, Connected Women’s ELEVATE AIDA program inspires women to be self-reliant and independent, writing that its judgment-free space invites women to grow freely and courageously. “It’s a reminder to all women that we can do anything if we put our mind to it. We can be part of the country’s economic growth.”

Erla Joy L. Escarcha echoed similar sentiments. The training brought back her confidence and exercised more than her data-labeling skills. “It tested my patience. It required a great amount of accuracy and trained me to do tasks as precisely as I could.”

“This program kept me productive and competitive as a remote worker,” wrote Batch 4 participant Evette Cuenca. “It feels like I’m being trained not only as a worker but also as a woman who is capable and competitive enough to be a leader.” She also realized the importance of communication and good working relationships.

In the case of Almira Tuazon, she had to quit school due to financial constraints. So, for her, ELEVATE AIDA was the proverbial window that opened when her other doors closed. Tuazon began her training with only a smartphone. When she told her parents that she needed a laptop for work, they replied that it was beyond their budget. Still, they found a way to support her by borrowing half of the cost from her grandmother.

Despite the lower specs, she persevered. Connected Women chose Tuazon to officially be part of its data-labeling pool—winning the second laptop. “It changed my life to think that even with the pandemic, I was so blessed to have the income to help my family,” she wrote.

Changing lives

The essay entries were judged by officials from the Women’s Business Council of the Philippines, which supported the program. Included in the panel were  Monette Hamlin (chairperson/TeamAsia CEO and founder), Mylene Abiva (president/FELTA Multi-media Inc. president and CEO), Ida Tiongson (member/Opal Portfolio Investments president and CEO), and lawyer Dulce Punzalan.

Hamlin confessed that reading stories about how the pandemic has impacted so many women—from losing jobs to struggling through school—made her tear up. “Their grit and determination to get past the challenges, and their resourcefulness in borrowing devices and raising funds needed to get online to learn new skills, shine through as a testament to a woman’s iron will to succeed and take care of their families,” she said.

For Tiongson, the essays served as encouragement and inspiration. She added, “This project is not just about learning. It’s about changing lives.”

Read our previous story: Connected Women Welcomes 7th Batch of ELEVATE AIDA Graduates