‘Chauvinism has been broken’ in business—women’s group
By Ma. Salve Duplito
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 19:13:00 04/02/2008
MANILA, Philippines – Women in the Philippines are becoming more and more entrenched in business, successfully navigating the world of golf, cigars and big deals, women business leaders said Wednesday.
Ma. Aurora Geotina-Garcia, president of the Women’s Business Council, said higher need for double incomes in many Filipino families would pave the way for this trend to continue.
“I think the macho chauvinist has been broken,” Garcia said during the Good News Kapihan at Figaro in Makati City.
Filipino families are struggling with a worsening job picture and escalating prices, forcing many women to go abroad for better pay. “Now the women does the work and the husband becomes the houseband,” Garcia said.
When overseas Filipino workers come home to their families with some savings, a common decision is to set up their own business because local jobs cannot match their overseas income.
Pacita Juan, owner of Figaro , a company in a male-dominated industry, pointed out that husbands don’t seem to mind staying home anymore.
Elizabeth Lee, president of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc., and executive vice-president of Universal Motors Corp. pointed out that 51 percent of entrepreneurs in the Philippines are women.
The figure came from International Entrepreneurship.com
a website from Georgia State University, the Institute of International Business and the Herman J. Russel Sr. International Center for Entrepreneurship.
“We are more detail-oriented, we take care of money a little bit more than men. In the Filipino culture, who handles money? Women,” said Lee.
Entrepreneurship also allows women to give quality and quantity time to their families even with full-time work as business owner, the women entrepreneurs said.
“In our generation, when we were growing up, most of our parents were career-oriented and we suffered from loss of love and attention. Now its out turn to rear our children so we want to be there in every moment,”Anj Decena, president of the Network for Enterprising Women and owner of Hotshots.
Unfortunately, women are still at a disadvantage when it comes to raising capital because Philippine banks require their husbands as signatories in loan documents.
“That’s a difficulty because what if they are separated?” Garcia pointed out.
But Decena also noted that women’s ability to adapt easily to changes make them successful in the dynamic world of business.
The WBC is holding a one-day long conference on Thursday entitled “Women to Women Mentoring” at the Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC) on Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City.
Among the speakers are Loida Nicholas-Lewis, a Filipino-born US-based industrialist who holds the post of chairman in TLC Beatrice, Citibank Country Business Manager Nina Aguas, PNB chairman Flor Tarriela, Sun Microsystems Cynthia Mamon and Universal Motor’s Lee.
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