Embracing Equity with Women and Everyone

It is no secret that historically, the energy industry has been male-dominated, with women being underrepresented, particularly in executive positions. However, I am happy to see some positive changes and more women are taking up leadership roles in the sector.

I am surrounded by strong female figures every day, my lovely wife included. And this brings to mind the famous saying “behind every successful man is a woman.” And while much of who I am now I owe to my wife and mother, this reinforces the idea that women can only play supporting roles. That’s no longer true today. We must ask ourselves, “What if it were the other way around? What if more women were put at the forefront and set up for success themselves?”?

The campaign theme for this year’s International Women’s Day, March 8, is #EmbraceEquity. People do not start at the same place. They come from different places, different stages. Quite similarly, the National Women’s Month theme for this year until 2028 is “WE for gender equality and inclusive society.”

True diversity, inclusion and belonging require collective action and I strongly believe that this is everyone's responsibility. We must really consider and actually implement initiatives that provide not just equal but equitable opportunities to women. In this regard, I quote the Philippine Commission on Women:

"WE stands for Women and Everyone emphasizing the role of women themselves and everyone in the pursuit of gender equality. 'WE' also stands for Women's Empowerment, which can only be achieved when agencies, mechanisms, institutions, private partners, and duty-bearers from the national to the local level provide women equal rights and opportunities, and women take these opportunities to further themselves. With women and everyone in synergy, WE can make gender equality a possibility."

At AboitizPower, we believe that diversity and inclusion are critical to our success, and we are driven to create a work environment that is inclusive, safe and supportive of everyone, regardless of their gender, age, race, ethnicity, or any other characteristic.

We recognize that diversity brings different perspectives and experiences, which are essential for innovation and progress. We look at one's merits and abilities and do not discriminate against others for being their authentic selves. This is how we transform energy for a better world. We start from within.

We have made significant progress in empowering women in AboitizPower. As of December 2022, females occupy 29.64% of jobs (an increase of 2.04 percentage points from 2019), with 32% of senior leaders in the company being women. Moving forward, we intend to further improve those numbers. AboitizPower hopes to infuse more talented and experienced women into leadership and technical roles and is currently finding ways to encourage women to become #BABAEngineers in the energy industry. These are timely interventions, as we recognize how improvements are still being made in economic participation and opportunities afforded to Filipino women.

If behind every successful man is a woman, then I can confidently say that behind every successful woman is herself.

We understand that to fulfill our purpose of transforming energy for a better world, it needs to begin at the individual level. With our team members becoming advocates of positive change, we rally our workforce and help strengthen the awareness of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging among our host communities and the rest of the nation.

True growth is only possible when inequalities are minimized, and talent is recognized.

While there is still much to be done, we’re seeing encouraging developments in the energy industry and more broadly, in the business world as a whole. We are proud to be part of this movement and will continue to work toward creating a more inclusive and diverse workplace that reflects our vision of a brighter tomorrow.

To know more about this year's International Women's Day theme on embracing equity, click HERE. And here's another good article about Jasmine Surti who has made embracing equity her advocacy.

#NWMC2023 #WEcanbeEquALL #EmbraceEquity #BABAEngineers