The age of Maria Clara Filipinas has come and gone. With the quick and steady rise of women empowerment in the country, the portrayal of the Filipina as meek and unresisting is staying in history books as a distant memory, never again to be revived.
In line with the Philippines’ month-long National Women’s Month Celebration this March, top advertising agency J. Walter Thompson (JWT) Philippines proudly unveils the results of “FilipinaNext” — a qualitative and quantitative research revealing why Filipinas “believe that there has never been a better time to be a woman,” as well as other insights on areas that matter most to them.
(Senior vice president-head of consumer mobile marketing of Globe Issa Cabreira; country director, retail, of Johnson & Johnson Philippines Tina Sabarre; CNN Philippines president Armie Jarin-Bennett; Manulife senior vice president and chief marketing officer Melissa Henson; JWT Philippines managing director Golda Roldan ; Art Fair Philippines co-founder Trickie Lopa; Rep. Pia Cayetano; Olympian silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz; and JWT Philippines executive strategic planning director Pam Pacete-Garcia)
The study ultimately recognizes the importance of “female capital” — a term used to encapsulate women’s contributions to society.
“It is astonishing to note that despite being believed that the Philippines is largely a macho society, our local study saw that 85 percent of Pinays believe that there has never been a better time to be a woman while 96 percent believe femininity is a strength,” says Golda Roldan, managing director of JWT Philippines.
According to FilipinaNext that involved Filipinas between the ages of 18 to 70 across socio-economic classes A,B,C,D and E, below are some of the most telling — and encouraging — findings from the study.
Money matters: The changing dynamic of women and wealth
- Globally, 50 percent of women consider themselves the primary breadwinner, while in these shores, 80 percent of Filipinas identify themselves as the main household purchaser.
- 73 percent say they make the majority of financial decisions at home.
Role models: Filipinas’ sources of inspiration
- 76 percent regard today’s female celebrities “too superficial.” This explains why a whopping 98 percent of Pinays assert the importance of establishing strong and substantial women in television and film.
- 94 percent of Filipinas feel that women in general need to step up and serve as mentors to young girls.
Professionally speaking: Filipinas work now and play later
- 58 percent of Filipinas would delay getting married and/or having kids to pursue their chosen career.
- 72 percent of Filipinas say they motivate themselves to succeed. The rest are inclined to turn to role models, thanks to the influence of a prominent female figure.
- 41 percent “have taken risks in life that they otherwise would not have taken,” 40 percent “became more ambitious, and 33 percent were encouraged to “go to school or pursue further education.”
And best of all, to address the study’s discovery of Filipinas’ desire to be mentored in the workplace, JWT Philippines has launched a new internship program called “Babaelang: A tribe of women for women.”
The program’s aim is to recruit female college students and train them to become the next big names in advertising, marketing and communication and will start in June of this year.
The hand-picked interns will be given the privilege of learning from industry leaders and influencers from JWT Philippines and its clients, receiving holistic training in different divisions in advertising including creatives, account management, strategic planning as well as administration and finance.
