07 April 2015 - The Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver held a program on March 30 to celebrate the 2015 National Women’s Month.  This year’s theme, Juana, Desisyon Mo ay Mahalaga sa Kinabukasan ng Bawat Isa, Ikaw Na!, pays tribute to all the women leaders who continue to advance women’s advocacies by effecting positive changes and inspiring others. 

Philippine Consul General Neil Frank R. Ferrer highlighted in his welcome address the Philippines’ performance in terms of gender equality, ranking ninth out of 142 member-states as assessed and reported in the Global Gender Gap 2014 report. This index studies the gap between women and men based on four main indicators: health and survival, educational attainment, economic participation, and political empowerment.  In the same report, the Philippines placed in the top 10 most gender-equal countries.

Consul General Ferrer expressed his gratitude to the government of Canada for creating enabling environments for the economic empowerment of women with its GREAT Women Project.  The GREAT Women Project or Gender Responsiveness Economic Actions for the Transformation of Women is a C$8 million (PhP 320 million) project that benefited an estimated 14,000 Filipino women micro-entrepreneurs from 2007 to 2013.  Both countries have signed an agreement in November 2014 to implement the second phase of the project, which is funded by the Canadian government, this time targeting Filipina micro-entrepreneurs in the food, textile and home-style sectors.

In the said gathering, Consul General welcomed the participation of Ms. Lenore RS Lim, representing the arts community.  Ms Lim imparted her leadership experience by sharing her evolution from the shy-and-silent type to an active leader in the arts and volunteer communities in the Philippines, Vancouver and New York. Ms. Lim is a recipient of the Pamana ng Pilipino Award, a Presidential recognition for Filipino overseas who has exemplified the talent and industry of the Filipino people, and one of the founders of the Filipino Music and Art Foundation in Vancouver.

To cap the celebration, a 30-minute documentary entitled, “The Empowered Filipina: Women of Substance” was also shown. The film shares the experiences of a collective group of Filipinas who have been affected by gender stereotyping issues and how they responded to these challenges, thereby uplifting the morale of Filipinas everywhere. END