05 November 2013 - “Lech Walesa said, ‘What the devil cannot do, the women can!’ More power to all Filipinas of the world,” declared Ambassador Patricia Ann V. Paez during her brief remarks when she received her award as one of “The 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the World (Global 100) under the Policymaker & Visionary Award Category from the Filipina Women’s Network (FWN) last October 26, at the 10th Annual Filipina Leadership Summit in San Francisco, USA. 

The Philippines’ envoy to Poland and to the three Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania dedicated her award to her paternal grandmother Maria Salome R. Paez who was the most profound influence in her life.

Ambassador Paez recalled, “Widowed in her early 30s, she managed to raise all her eight children, and send them all to college to become successful professionals in their chosen fields. She even looked after some of her grandchildren while their parents went to work. My grandmother was able to get by through income derived from her rice lands, fishponds, poultry, and piggery. At the same time, she was very actively involved in several civic and religious organizations, foremost of which was the Catholic Women’s League (CWL) in our town where she served as president. She showed me that a woman can do anything and everything.”

Prior to her appointment as Ambassador to Poland and to the three Baltic States, Ambassador Paez was Assistant Secretary for American Affairs at the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs. She had served as Presidential Assistant for Foreign Affairs and as Minister for Political and Political-Security Affairs at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C.

In 2010, she was conferred with the Presidential Medal of Merit and the Gawad Mabini award for her work in the field of foreign policy and diplomacy.       
   

The Policymaker and Visionary award category recognizes Filipina women leaders who have demonstrated exceptional business acumen, have a forward-looking vision in the development or influencing of  policies, campaigns or laws that impact business, industry, and society and who enrich the lives and careers of others by sharing the benefits of their wealth, experience and knowledge. 

The 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the World Award is a celebration of leadership, inspiration and achievement. It honors Filipina women who are influencing the face of leadership in the global workplace.

“The FWN Global100 women are dynamic entrepreneurs, rising stars under age 35, practitioners and executives who have moved through the ranks in large organizations, nonprofits, the military and government agencies. They are powerful examples of women doing extraordinary work who will motivate our youth and future leaders,” said Col. Shirley Raguindin, Chair of the Global100 Worldwide Search and Selection Committee. “They were selected from nominations submitted from 15 countries.”

The 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the World Award is a working recognition award, a dream with a meaningful purpose: double the number of Filipina women leaders globally by 2020. END