The celebration of International Women’s Month worldwide highlights the progressive strides and achievements made by each country in empowering females in all walks of life. Filipino women in the UAE shared tales about how equality among the genders has been promoted by the UAE leadership not just through plain initiatives, but through actual enforced legislations.
Narrating their individual accounts, these Filipino women hailed the UAE government’s issuance of Decree of Federal Law No. 06 for 2020 stipulating equal wages for women and men in the private sector.
Filipina mothers also expressed their gratitude to the wise leadership for amending some provisions of the Federal Law No. 8 of 1980, in particular. An additional five-day paid leave was added on top of the 45-day maternity leave in the new amendments, which essentially gives mothers more time to take care of their newborn child. Incorporated in this amendment is the implementation of paternal leave, a first in the Arab nation, which gives fathers quality time with their wife and his kid for five days to help care for the infant.
On the flip side, the private sector has to keep up with the implementation of these values and policies. Some women shared how they stood up to isolated incidents of discrimination, and how these instances motivated them to rise above challenges and prove that they are equally capable and competent as men.
‘Personal Assistant’ becomes CEO
One Filipina expat who has had her fair share of such instances is Mary Jane Alvero, CEO of Prime Group, leading quality and compliance solutions provider in the Asia, Middle East and North Africa.
At that time, she was working as a quality assurance officer. Despite her position, Alvero said her manager would often ask her for errands outside the scope of her job, such as bringing him a glass of water.
“I got fed up because I was busy preparing our documentation system. He kept bothering me, asking me to switch off the AC in his office and to bring him a glass of water,” she narrated.
“I decided to stand up for myself,” she said, adding that she confronted the manager as the feeling of not being treated right was strong enough to let it slide.
The manager, she added, was furious and demanded the chairman of the company to fire her. But this was not how it went; the chairman stood by Alvero and sacked the manager instead. That incident had created a precedent for the company to implement a zero-discrimination policy, which Alvero truly admires till this very day.
“The board of owners have trusted me to be a part of the group, to be a part of the company. That’s why, I’m so proud of this company because we don’t tolerate discrimination or bullying. Since I was a victim of workplace politics, I never allow it to happen in this company. As long as I’m here, it will never happen, especially to a woman,” added the CEO.
Test of a woman’s resilience
Another Filipina who experienced a similar ordeal in the workplace is Sheryl Manalo, who is now a senior Health Unit Coordinator Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. She has been in the UAE for 13 years now.
In her first job in Dubai over a decade ago, in an architectural firm dominated by men, one of her co-workers would persistently find fault in everything she did to bring her down.
“I worked in [the] documentation [section], and there was a particular person who always underestimated [my capabilities]; he would always find fault in everything that I’d do. Maybe because I am a woman or Asian; I don’t really know. One time, he shouted at me in front of our colleagues and he simultaneously threw the papers he was holding at my table. I was shocked and scared at the same time. It was the first time something like that ever happened to me,” she narrated.
Manalo recalled that the incident happened when this male co-worker got mad after she was not able to finish the paperwork. Despite her explanation, the man threw insults at her, saying she was “not fit in that kind of work.” All she was hoping, had she committed any mistake, was to course it through the proper channel and not through such an attitude towards her.
“What I did at that moment, though, was just to tell myself to be strong. I faced him and said ‘I have my brains intact in my head’. I went to work daily with a determination to improve myself and be the best that I can be in that workplace. In the end, I did not stay long enough due to the intolerable [working] environment, but that experience helped me a lot in preparing myself for my next journey here in Abu Dhabi,” said Manalo.
“I took that as my driving force in pursuing what I really wanted in my career. It was a test of my faith and resilience. Whether I would succumb to it and be a failure, I would rise above it all and take that as a challenge. In the end, those experiences have molded me into what I am today, a passion-driven woman who knows what she wants in her life,” she added.
UAE’s well-balanced workforce
Women have witnessed a rise in leadership opportunities worldwide, but the UAE has exceptionally supported and acknowledged the importance of female empowerment in the country.
This rings true for Filipina expat Irvi Luthel Go, a senior product manager at dairy product company Arla Foods—and the only Filipino in the company’s MENA Regional team. The mother-of-three said it was challenging to juggle the needs of her children and her duties in the workplace—but the regulations set by the UAE government have made it easier now for women like her to cope.
“We have been blessed to be in a country that provides woman empowerment and equality. The country is committed to gender equality, giving them the right to play bigger roles and be in a government office. They also ensure women’s protection, the right to education, among others. In the UAE, you can see a very balanced socio-economic workforce,” she said.
Go has been given equal opportunities in the UAE to shine as a professional. Prior to her current work, she was the only female in the regional research and development department of consumer goods company Unilever—which she said was a division dominated by men before.
Even with her high stature at work now, she manages to always strike a balance between work and personal life due to the women-friendly regulations set forth by the UAE. “Weekends is more on what I can do with the kids. On normal weekends, Saturdays are always church day, then lunch-out with my family. Fridays are about activities to do with the kids, spending time with my family at the park or the beach when weather permits,” she added.
Meanwhile, Christy Baldonado, Deputy Marketing Manager of Chowking UAE, shared how the policies set by the UAE to make its society pro-women transcend in the workplace.
“As a Filipina working here in the UAE for over a decade, I can confidently say that this country emphasizes the role of women in the corporate sector,” said Baldonado, who has been in the country for 12 years now.
The forward-looking leaders, she said, empower women by way of ensuring that they get equal pay, equal benefits, and equal opportunities.
“It’s also important to note that this is a country where racial or gender discrimination has no place in society,” she added.
