Why a women’s day?

Men will surely ask: And when is International Men’s Day? March 8 is celebrated worldwide as International Women’s Day when events are so timed that every woman is reminded of her role as a leader, a changemaker and a hero in many ways. Oftentimes women discount their role at home, and only think of work as what is done in an office, a store or any job that pays her good money. This is why the stuff we do at home is called unpaid care work.

In advanced countries women can take a whole year off when they have a baby, and fathers are also granted long paternity leaves. In countries where population growth is negative, families are rewarded for having another child (e.g. Korea, Singapore) with freebies at the hospital and even wellness spa visits for the mothers. Way to go, mothers!

We celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) to remind each other of the many roles women play and where they could also excel more than their male counterparts. So, more than reminding men, IWD is to remind women to remain strong and resolute in their desire to be better mothers while earning a living, multitasking to make both ends meet and generally pursuing other careers, jobs and “hustle” to be able to feed their families.

We also celebrate women in non-traditional jobs like welders, plumbers and painters. In TESDA Women’s Center (TWC), we encourage women to take courses in these non-trad jobs that pay more and do not require much brawn as it was thought of before. Even careers as automotive mechanics are now being populated by women, as technology has made it ergonomically possible for women to be auto technicians. It needs brain, not brawn.

In professional careers there are more female engineers joining the manufacturing industry as “attention to detail” is of prime importance in the sector, which is booming with the times. After all, college graduates are 50 percent female and many of them now pursue courses in Engineering and Architecture, among others. The default careers decades ago for women were teacher, nurse or pharmacist. Not anymore.

In farming, I cannot help but talk about the role of women in coffee. From picking the best ripe fruits, attention to processing and even roasting it to bring you a better brew, women have many roles in the coffee industry. This is why we have groups that call themselves Women in Coffee. Globally, the best coffee tasters are women, too. They are biologically-equipped with more taste sensors, experts say. So even coffee processing equipment must be designed with a gender lens. How tall are the women who will process the coffee? Must the height of an elevated coffee sun drier be fit for a man’s height or for the woman who does the task?

And must I mention politics? We have had two women presidents in what is perceived to be a patriarchal society. And we are destined to maybe have another woman leader, according to psychics and futurists. There are many females now in government service even as firewomen, police and in the armed forces.

From coffee sorters in the farm to the highest seat in the board, women figure more prominently these days because of exposure, inspiration and seeing idols they can emulate. There even is a book entitled “Filipina First” published many years ago by the group of activist Maribel Ongpin and top woman diplomat Delia Domingo-Albert. It named firsts like the first Filipina pilot Aimee Carandang-Gloria, among others. This book needs a sequel as more and more Filipinas come to the fore as chair of boards, heads of government agencies, senators, congresswomen, inventors and mountain climbers!

In the board room we now have more women sitting as board directors, who chart the paths of Philippine business not as token gender compliance members, but as active directors in publicly-listed companies (PLCs). “We’ve come a long way, Baby,” as the 70s advertisement used to proclaim for a famous cigarette brand called Virginia Slims, when women were starting to get acceptance in using the now “sinful” product and women were already seen smoking in public.

There are the women who claimed our right to vote. The women who sewed our first Philippine flag. These are women who shaped history.

Today’s women still need some coaxing to come out of their shells, as many still work in the background. But thanks to programs on Diversity and Inclusion such as that of Philippine Business Coalition for Women Empowerment (PBCWE), more companies are conscious about equal opportunities for women in the workforce. Equal pay, for example. Globally, women still need to have the same if not higher pay than their male counterparts.

Thanks to technology, women need not have more muscles to get gainful employment on what used to be male-dominated jobs. In construction, women become “finishing” painters, because of their attention to detail. They need not carry cement bags to prove they can do that job. Instead, they specialize in construction jobs that require their unique gifts and skills.

And let’s not forget the woman as a consumer. She makes almost 90 percent of purchase decisions in the house. And even for cars, did you know? Yet only a few car companies like Renault got women engineers to study ergonomics with a gender lens. How easy is it to move a car seat, how do I get my baby’s car seat into the rear seating area, how heavy is the truck door? Have car companies studied women’s heights, reach and other ergonomics to make it easy for a woman driver to use a car?

So, today, nudge a woman on how important she is in society. Sometimes she gets so busy in her work that she has no time to even appreciate herself.

Happy International Women’s Day!

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Chit U. Juan a trustee of Philippine Women’s Economic Network (PHILWEN), past chair of the ASEAN Women Entrepreneurs Network and president of The NextGen Women Corporate Directors (NOWCD).