Becoming a 'power woman'

We live in the age of the power woman. Oh, you know the type: smart, sophisticated, driven and independent females who dominate their workplaces and look fabulous in their perfectly-tailored suits. Think Hillary Clinton, or a modern day Daenerys Targaryen from HBO's hit series “Game of Thrones.” 

 

Indeed, the archetype of meek, Maria Clara femininity has become all but passe. Our country's already had two female presidents and, now, a female Chief Justice. Statistics from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) have also revealed that there are more women than men in executive and managerial positions in the workforce.

 

But what does it mean to be a power woman? 

 

For Toots Ople, consultant for the International Labor Organizaton (ILO) and head of the Blas F. Ople Center, it can be as simple as speaking up. "I think it's very important for women to have very specific points of view. We cannot be the timid wallflower," Ople said at Microsoft Philippines' International Women's Day celebration last March 8.

 

"I deal with a lot of OFWs and I have seen that time and again women have been holding on to so many invisible scars that they don't even have the courage to speak up even on ordinary things," she shared.

 

"So, I think it's important: be relevant, study, improve yourself all the time, and find that voice, and look and be comfortable with that point of view that you alone have decided to espouse," she added.

 

Perspective and soft skills

 

Ople was one of the three women speaking at the Microsoft event. Joining her were board member and former Ayala Foundation president Vicky Garchitorena, Microsoft Philippines Managing Director Karrie Ilagan (the first female to hold the position), and Microsoft Central Region General Manager Diana Tibbs.

 

For Garchitorena, being a woman leader doesn't necessarily mean being tough or strong all the time. 

 

"I really believe that women bring a unique perspective to any management or leadership team," Garchitorena said.

 

"We have to be strong, firm, but we mustn't lose our femininity. We mustn't lose the unique strengths that we bring to any conversation. You can use your charms without flirting, you can use your soft skills," she said, saying that men and women make a good balance in any workplace because of the different and complementing values they bring in.

 

For Tibbs, being a leader is not just about securing your own position, but about helping other women.

 

"I think one thing that a lot of women don't realize is that how much we need to help other women," she said.

 

"Even if you're not a manager yet, once you get to a certain spot, you need to turn around and grab the next one, pull her behind you. Because women don't naturally do that," she said.  

 

Success at home and work

 

The women also agree that being successful does not even have to come at the cost of having a happy family life. Ultimately, for them, one does not even have to have a high leadership position in a big company to be successful. 

 

They stressed that one can be successful, whether in the boardroom or at home, as long as they are doing what makes them happy. 

 

"The way I look at it and say it, I think people, men or women, can say that they're successful when they've found their rhythm, and they live their life in that rhythm, whatever that is," Ilagan said.

 

"I think someone [successful is] someone who's peaceful, who's at peace with herself, with her life, and still hungry to learn," Ople added.

 

Garchitorena agreed, saying, "It's very important not to equate success with position, or power, or wealth."

 

Many of her friends, Garchitorena shared, never worked, but live fulfilled lives as housewives. "So it's really happiness, fulfillment, continuing to develop yourself," she said.

 

The Stepford Wives phenomenon

 

However, Garchitorena stressed that there is culture of machismo in the Philippines where husbands feel jealous of their wives for being more successful than they are – also known as the Stepford Wives phenomenon.

 

Garchitorena said that all too often, women end up settling for smaller, less-fulfilling roles to please their husbands.

 

"This is something that I think we need to face," she said, stressing that women should not stand in the way of their own success.

 

In the end, according to Tibbs, the power woman defines her own success, whether as sister, as mother, as teacher, or as CEO. 

 

"I think whatever excites you [also] equals success," she said. 

 

"If you love what you do and you're passionate about it and you get up every day and you're challenged, then that's success," she added. "I think you define your own success and you feel it when you're there, and you know it." – KDM/KG, GMA News