“We [at MBC] want to encourage women to rise up to senior leadership positions, basically C-suite positions, but it is a very big task. MBC members have a lot to share on gender diversity and inclusivity – some are just starting while others are way ahead. When we come together, I am sure we can make a big difference programmatically,” said Aileen Judan-Jiao, also President and Country General Manager of IBM Philippines. 

The project will also offer brown-bag sessions that build on the Learn-and-Share sessions that the MBC Women-in-C-Suite Committee has already conducted with MBC member companies. In addition, these sessions will cover the findings from the research study and a chosen Diversity, Equality & Inclusion (DE&I) topic of the hosting company. It also serves as a safe space for employees to share their personal experiences of gender inclusivity in the workplace.

“Many of the barriers that exist are related to social norms and stereotypes. Policies are the foundation but they are not the only issue. It is important that we have the policies and practices but we really need to understand these fundamental stereotypes and norms that are inhibiting the progress that we have to make,” said IW Business Partnerships Director Kathy Mulville.

“Our strategy will remain focused on engaging men and women of power and influence to advance gender equality as CEO-led action and advocacy will accelerate the pace of change. We look forward to the report from the REIGN project being a useful resource for our members”, said PhilWEN Founding Chair and President, PBCWE Co-Chair, and CCC Philippines Co-Convenor Boots Garcia.

The REIGN Project is the second research partnership project between MBC and PBCWE. The first of which is the Women in the Philippine C-Suite Study launched in 2019. MBC and PBCWE also work closely together on the Champions of Change Coalition Philippines, which has heads from the two organizations as co-convenors.