In 2022, the Philippines ranked 19th in the World Economic Forum The Global Gender Gap Index across areas such as economic participation and opportunity (16th), educational attainment (46th), health and survival (30th), and political empowerment (35th). While the Philippines still registered the highest level of gender parity in East Asia and the Pacific, the report showed that the share of women participating in the labor force was still at 24.5 percentage points lower than the share of men.
In time for International Women’s Month and with a theme, “Be Without Limits,” Accenture Philippines gathered women leaders and advocates in its International Women’s Day forum on March 15 that puts a spotlight on women’s limitless potential and opportunities to thrive and how companies and organizations can support and enable women to be productive anywhere.
“At Accenture in the Philippines, we remain committed to creating an environment where women can thrive by equipping them with relevant digital skills, facilitating supportive leadership and mentorship, creating opportunities, and promoting work-life enhancements,” said Ambe Tierro, country managing director and Technology Lead in the Philippines. “In this way, we are not only helping empower women to continue to dream big and succeed in their remarkable roles, but we are also helping shape future growth and success of organizations and our communities.”
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Together with guests and equality advocates, Tierro discussed the top findings of a global study from Accenture and topics around supportive leadership, empowering women with digital skills, creating opportunities and work-life enhancements for women and for all. The findings in the Accenture global research conducted among 10,750 workers (5,367 women) and 200 Chief Executive Officers highlight four key areas that will drive 1.5x – 2.5x a “productive anywhere” mindset and where women can get more support from organizations:
1. Empowering women with digital skills
- Women were significantly lower than the global average in digital skills, which include cloud computing, cybersecurity, and robotics.
- Fewer than 1 in 3 women are confident their skills will be relevant in 5 years.
- An organization-wide digital strategy can boost the perceived relevance of technology and digital skill sets and empower workers to solve real problems and innovate using their technology skills.
2. Work-life enhancements
- Women reported lower work-life balance than the global average. 21% of women agree that their personal life suffers because of work.
- Organizations have the opportunity to reverse the aforementioned trend and continue to look for ways how work positively impacts the personal lives of its people, especially women by embedding purpose in the work culture and interactions.
3. Supportive leadership
- Women had significantly fewer experiences of supportive leadership compared to the global average. 75% of women agree that top management at their organization are good examples of professionals they can aspire to and learn from.
- Supportive leaders are leaders who are active listeners that demonstrate care and consideration for the well-being, productivity, and personal development of employees.
4. Autonomy at work
- Women said there was significantly lower autonomy in their work when compared to the global average. 94% of women who feel they can be productive anywhere in the future of work are trusted to manage their own time, provided deadlines and expectations are met.
- Workers feel more autonomous when leaders shed command and control models and instead lead with intent, where people can choose their own path to get to business outcomes.