Encouraging Women To Excel In Their Fields

I got inspired to write this article when I read about a Filipina quantum physicist and what helped her finish her Ph.D. and excel in her field while raising a family. I can imagine the challenges she must have gone through. I, myself, find it hard to believe up to this day that I got through my postgraduate studies while being pregnant with my third child. And I would like to contemplate on my own experience and of the women around me to help with the question – how can we uplift women and bring out the best in them? Now, do not get me wrong. I am not about to justify special privileges for women just for the sake of it. After all, there are also a lot of constraints for men that they need to overcome as well. But this article is not a comparison between male and female but an assertion on how we can maximize women’s potential. 

The country’s labor-force participation rate is already going down. This is not good. We need this to go up if we want businesses to continue to thrive and the economy to continue growing. A large part of the problem is women’s labor-force participation rate being significantly lower than that of men and is in a downward trend. Estimates show that three-quarters of all men of eligible age are in the labor force but barely half of the women are. This, however, does not mean that they are not contributing at all. Women’s unpaid work, which includes caring for the kids, cleaning the home, cooking food, and washing laundry, was estimated at twenty percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) based on a study published by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS). It does not mean though that these are all that they want to do with their lives.  Surely, a portion of them simply chooses to stay at home because it is expected of them, but many would desire to do more given the opportunity. These women represent a huge untapped workforce. Understanding women’s roles and circumstances at home and in the community may usher ways to exploit some of these talents either by implementing strategies to attract them to enter the labor force or retain those that are already employed by helping them maximize their full potential in their chosen careers. 

Clearly, the environment that can support a woman’s journey to success is hardly a unidimensional support system. Men and women have different socially defined roles but this difference is hardly considered in the rules that were built and implemented. It is good that significant progress is attained through the years by expanding entitlements to women; maternity leave, for instance, is now 105 days long. But not all women are married and/or have children. Among siblings, women usually attend to the needs of their old folks and I am not referring to financial needs only. While all these roles seem natural and given, they do add up and become major considerations to women’s ability to work well and practice their profession. I think the problem lies in the archaic perception of a woman’s role in the patriarchal society. But I am not here to address that problem. After all, social norms are sticky and hardly change even in the long run. I believe, though, that even small things matter.   

A key to excellence is focus. But for a working woman, that may be a luxury. You see, there is hardly a day in her life when all she needs to think of is her work. She has her family, aging parents, the laundry, grocery, school activities of children, community work, and yes, pets. There are just so many things running in her mind that concentration, for one thing, seems next to impossible. Easing, of course, some of this mental overload is the key but understanding is basic. Because the moment that the person becomes overwhelmed with work that prevents her from doing her family duties, she would almost always choose her family over her work. Firing her may teach her a lesson, but that would mean going back to square one and re-training someone else. So, giving some allowance for her to process her way through her maze is helpful and this requires a lot of patience and understanding. But more importantly, compromising on a workable program that the worker can implement in the long run for her to gain focus on her task is paramount.

Moreover, one has a better chance of excelling in a job she is trained for and is passionate about. A lot of women (and even men for that matter) leave their jobs because they feel like they’re in the wrong place or people around them make them feel they are in the wrong place. Yet they are also known to be more loyal than their male counterpart. They work best in an environment where they can be productive and happy at the same time. Excellent bosses know how to make them fit in by first ensuring that they put them in the right place and by providing them with opportunities to continuously hone their skills because excellent workers are not made overnight, they are mentored and nurtured. 

Helping us, women, soar high is not simple but is not impossible either. Many of our roles are society-determined roles that we would rather not complain about. But a little dose of patience and understanding can certainly help us in a big way as we try to balance these multiple roles and contribute in the most meaningful way we can.

Note: This article was previously published in the printed issue of The Corporate, Guide and Style for Professionals Magazine.