Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno talks about women's empowerment at the APEC Business Advisory Council Women's Luncheon.
The Philippines' first female chief justice says: "Those who told me I will regret the decision to spend time with my family can't say that anymore. Because I'm Chief Justice."
Ayee Macaraig reports. - Rappler.com
Inclusive economies must involve working women with families.
The Philippines' first female chief justice tells business delegates of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation to make the workplace more flexible for women struggling to balance careers and families.
Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno talks about women's empowerment at the APEC Business Advisory Council Women's Luncheon.
Instead of citing cold figures, Sereno draws from her own personal story of raising a family while making a career as a top lawyer and professor.
MARIA LOURDES SERENO, CHIEF JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT OF THE PHILIPPINES: I opted out of that fast track [law firm career] to go into the academe which would allow me to have more control of my time. I was given all the dire warnings ambitious people give talented individuals: "You will regret forever your decision. When your kids hit high school and you can't afford to give them the best kind of decision, you will come to regret it. You are afraid of success," all of these stereotypical analysis of why an individual should choose a different path, even though a very fantastic career opening is already there, just waiting to be grabbed, nurtured and developed.
I did not need to speak to those warnings because it was very clear to me that if I do not succeed as an individual in my basic, core function which is to be a mother who is able to care for her children, to allow the family to be centered on the correct values, even while I am developing my intellectual side and of course my need to contribute to the community, if I do not attend to that, I will forever not know myself anymore.
And so I opted out, and by God's grace, I got fantastic consultancies one after the other even if while I was raising two children. Sometimes I would bring my two children to consultancy meetings. They found it funny I brought my two children with me to accept my diploma when I graduated from Ann Arbor. I am comfortable with myself. And I will be as excellent as I can be in whatever position has been opened to me.
Sereno urges the council to ensure that more women become heads of business.
One example she cites is not discriminating against women with career gaps to give birth or take care of ailing relatives.
She also wants businesses to put up daycares in offices.
But Sereno says women, above all, must show their own leadership style at work.
MARIA LOURDES SERENO, CHIEF JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT OF THE PHILIPPINES: What is wrong with not being aggressive? What is wrong with being very considerate of the feelings of another person? That is why when the occasion is appropriate, I talk about my role as a mother, now a grandmother. When I can, I bring my children with me. I talk about my family. Because these used to be taboo subjects when it comes to formal or even business discussions.
But why should they be? They are part of who we are. I cannot be a good chief justice if I cannot recognize that part of myself. To deny that is to have a broken personality so why don't we bring about wholeness again?
Women's empowerment is one of the pillars of the business council's inclusive growth agenda. After all, the Philippines tops global surveys on gender equality.
But delegates say more work must be done to ensure that women from all 21 APEC economies, especially those in micro, small and medium enterprises, benefit from regional integration, and truly become engines of economic growth.
Ayee Macaraig, Rappler, Manila.