Inspired by the United Nations’ theme for International Women’s Day, “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality,” women leaders in tech lent their perspectives on the past, present, and future of women in the industry. The discussion highlighted the importance of diversity and the role women play in powering technology. Women leaders also stressed the need to mentor and inspire younger women to advance in tech and leadership roles. Empowering women leaders is essential for creating a more inclusive fintech industry. By fostering women-led ecosystems, women can unleash their inherent creativity to solve problems, fuel economic growth, and drive innovation. Although Southeast Asia has a higher representation and participation of women in tech than other parts of the world, it is still necessary to keep track of emerging conversations on representation, access, and policy. EmpowHER, Enstack’s first-ever forum for women in the tech industry, aims to contribute to the community’s collective goal of camaraderie and work towards a more inclusive future for the tech industry.
Enstack, an all-in-one app for small businesses, celebrated Women’s Month by hosting EmpowHER, its first-ever forum for women in the tech industry. The event featured a panel of female start-up leaders, including Ruoshan Tao, Head of Marketing, Shopee Philippines, Stephanie Sy, Founder and CEO, Thinking Machines, Macy Castillo, Co-Founder and CEO, Enstack, and Yangyang Zhang, Managing Director, Xendit Philippines. The forum discussed the importance of diversity and inclusion in tech to open up more opportunities for women in the industry. The event drew in participants from different functions that fuel the tech ecosystem, including executives, venture capitalists, government officials, and start-up founders.
The forum had two keynote speeches from government officials, including Deputy Governor Bernadette Romulo-Puyat of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) who highlighted the importance of technology in boosting financial inclusion, especially for women-led micro-small medium enterprises (MSMEs). According to her, Filipino women lead and own the majority of MSMEs in the country. However, these women leaders still face several challenges in financial inclusion, such as less economic participation, credit access challenges, and low utilization and knowledge of financial products. Addressing these challenges requires interventions to create an enabling and empowering environment that allows Filipina entrepreneurs to thrive in a digital environment. Technology can bridge these gaps and set up more Filipinas for entrepreneurial success.
Department of Information and Communications Technology Undersecretary Anna Mae Lamentillo also spoke at the event, underscoring the importance of bridging the digital gender divide. She emphasized that bridging the digital gender divide is a requisite of gender equality and that men need to be engaged in the fight for gender equality. She suggested that men can play a role in the cause by showing the value of providing equal opportunities for women and that women’s participation is critical to society and the nation’s overall welfare.
In conclusion, the EmpowHER forum showcased the importance of diversity and inclusion in the tech industry, especially for women-led MSMEs. The event also highlighted the need to bridge the digital gender divide to achieve gender equality.
In celebration of International Women’s Day, women leaders in tech shared their insights on the current state and future of women working in the industry. The United Nations’ theme for the day was “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality,” which inspired the discussion.
Diversity is crucial in technology, and women play a significant role in it. According to Stephanie Sy, Founder and CEO of Thinking Machines, diverse viewpoints lead to better technology. This Women’s Month, the impact of women in technology is celebrated, and the next generation of women technologists are encouraged to drive innovation.
Mentoring and inspiring younger women is also essential for women to advance in tech and leadership roles. Women need to see other women in leadership positions to realize that they, too, can achieve those positions. Ruoshan Tao, Head of Marketing for Shopee Philippines, emphasizes the need for women to continue challenging themselves and cultivating their strengths.
Empowering women leaders is necessary to create a more inclusive fintech industry. Women’s fresh ideas are critical for innovation. Yangyang Zhang, Managing Director for Xendit, believes that viewing the needs of the current payments landscape through a gendered lens can help create infrastructure that is equally accessible for both men and women.
Women are the backbone of economies, and tech is no exception. According to Macy Castillo, Co-Founder and CEO of Enstack, women-led SMEs that have embraced digitization are fueling economic growth and driving innovation. By providing different channels to support these businesses and foster strong linkages among women in the ecosystem, their inherent creativity can be unleashed to solve problems.
Although Southeast Asia has a higher representation and participation of women in tech than other parts of the world, it is still necessary to keep track of emerging conversations on representation, access, and policy. EmpowHER, Enstack’s first-ever forum for women in the tech industry, aims to contribute to the community’s collective goal of camaraderie and work towards a more inclusive future for the tech industry.
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