With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020, the ILO and Investing in Women (IW) noted the importance of highlighting in country briefs to raise awareness on the gendered implications of the pandemic and the need for firms to incorporate gender equality considerations into their emergency and recovery plans.

In 2019, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) published a global report The Business Case for Change (BCC), based on an enterprise survey on women in business and management lead by the ILO Bureau for Employer’s Activities (ACT/EMP). The global survey drew on almost 13,000 businesses in 70 countries. There were 389 companies that responded in the Philippines.

Given the strong interest in demonstrating the business case for workplace gender equality (WGE), IW collaborated with the ILO to produce country specific research briefs for Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam. The findings of this research and the upcoming launch of the country brief was made possible through a collaborative partnership between the ILO’s Bureau for Employers’ Activities, Investing in Women, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines, the Philippine Business Coalition for Women Empowerment, the ILO’s Women in STEM project supported by J.P Morgan.

The research briefs aim to present evidence on the business case for women in business and management. They include findings on areas such as profitability, productivity, women in leadership, and the link between gender balance on boards and improved business outcomes.

Event Background

To showcase the country brief highlights and gather support from industries and employer organizations, the ILO in cooperation with Investing in Women, Employers Confederation of the Philippines, and the Philippines Business Coalition for Women Empowerment will be launching the country brief online on 23 September 2020.

The launch shall consist of the presentation of report’s findings and a panel discussion with key women leaders in the industry led by Ms Aileen Judan-Jiao, Country Manager of IBM Philippines, Ms Nina Aguas, Chairperson of Insular Philippines and Ms. Aurora Geotina-Garcia, Chairperson of the Philippine Women’s Economic Network, Inc. (PhilWEN).

Objective 

The launch aims to bring together representatives from companies and industry associations to present the report on the country-level business case and to discuss workplace gender equality initiatives and ideas, placed against a Covid-19 background. In response to the report, a Joint Call to Action shall be presented during the launch by the Philippine Business Coalition for Women Empowerment and the Employers Confederation of the Philippines.

Event Partners: Employers Confederation of the Philippines, Philippine Business Coalition for Women Empowerment, Investing in Women

How to Join: Interested attendees may register on the online Zoom webinar on 23 September 2020, via bit.ly/3hCb56n.