Rosario Cajucom-Bradbury (F)
Board Advisor and Executive Director
In the past 50 years, the improvement in Women's equality has been dramatic but there's still much to be done. The Philippines ranks high on equality, but not at senior levels. We believe now is the time to encourage, mandate and accelerate much greater gender equality and diversity in the Boardroom, as well as accelerate the progression at entry level to middle level management and middle level to senior level of leadership of women. To do this, an active and vocal movement to increase awareness and corporate acceptance of this urgent need to make gender equity a standard practice of corporate culture. A quota mandate requirement of women in the Boardroom and Senior management level has been criticized but one can look at it as pushing the start button. A good jump starts in the right direction. Over time, it makes a point that what is most important is having transparent qualifications to be a Board Member or Senior Leader regardless of gender. It is not about the mandate of quota because the fact remains that women are a major contributor to the financial health of a company and to the economy of a country. There are established performance measurements in this respect and well founded by international women organizations. Gender equality and women empowerment is the right thing to do, and it's the right time to do it.