Upon the invitation of Ms. Ma. Aurora "Boots" Geotina-Garcia, WomenBizPH Chair and private sector host of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation’s (APEC) Public Private Dialogue on Women and the Economy (PPDWE), Ms. Monique Cornelio-Pronove of Pronove Tai attended her first APEC event to hear, learn, and share ideas on how women can help move various agendas, efforts and initiatives towards positive change. A cornerstone of economic growth is a strong and responsive real estate industry and representing this industry in a regional public-private dialogue is already a big step to paving the way for more women to have an empowered voice in determining the future of our country.
Held September 17 at the Philippine International Convention Center, the APEC Women and the Economy 2015 convened one of its core components, the Public Private Dialogue on Women and the Economy. This event was spearheaded by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), in collaboration with Women’s Business Council Philippines (WomenBizPH). Welcoming around 800 delegates from 21 APEC member-economies, Philippine President Benigno Aquino and DTI Secretary Gregory L. Domingo exhorted women especially from the Philippines to rise to the many challenges facing the region today. The Philippines has one of the strongest representation of women in the economy where women leaders and entrepreneurs conduct business in small, medium and large environments.
The PPDWE started its thematic discussions with a panel session on the 5 Pillars of Women’s Economic Empowerment. Three sub-themes that were tackled after were “Women and Inclusive Business with a focus on the value of empowerment”, “Women in the International Markets and Global Value Chain focused on innovation” and lastly, “Women and Sustainable Development focused on resiliency”.
Notable speakers and panel discussants were Maria Ressa, CEO of Rappler; Digital and Marketing Head of Citi, Ms. Heather Carrol Cox; Dr. Belen Garijo, CEO of Merck Healthcare; Ms. Victoria Lennox, CEO of Start Up Canada; Ms. Malathi Das, President of Singapore Council of Women’s Organizations and Ms. Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo, Public Servant and 3rd District Representative of Camarines Sur, Philippines. Facilitators and anchors during the event were also empowered leaders of media and business – Ms. Mitzi Borromeo of CNN Philippines; Mr. Boy Abunda, TV Host and Celebrity; Ms. Cheche Lazaro, President of Probe Productions and Ms. Karen Davila, ABS-CBN Broadcast Journalist and Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum.
WomenBizPH’s Ms. Boots Garcia closed a very successful APEC event along with the past and future private sector hosts Ms. Kathy Xiaosi Gong, Founder and CEO of PinPoint and KG Inc & Seeway Group (China) and Ms. Ana Maria Choquehuanca, President of Peruvian Association Industrial Women (Peru).