Packed with a total of 32 participants from social enterprises (SEs) and various stakeholders from government, NGOs, CSOs, and SE resource institutions, a panel of experts led a much needed discussion on Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) during the first day (April 29, 2025) of the National Social Entrepreneurship Conference (NSEC) at the University of the Philippines Institute for Small-Scale Industries (UP ISSI).
The first speaker was Dr. Marie Lisa Dacanay, President of the Institute for Social Entrepreneurship in Asia (ISEA) and Convenor of the Poverty Reduction Through Social Entrepreneurship (PRESENT) Coalition. Dr. Dacanay explained the Benchmarks for Transformational Partnerships and Women’s Economic Empowerment in Agricultural Value Chains (BTP-WEE in AVCs) and why it is an important framework for social enterprises. Additionally, she discussed the specific WEE indicators within the scorecard that can guide SEs in assessing their own WEE-related practices and policies.
Ms. Maria Celeste Barroso, Resilience Portfolio Officer-WEE, Oxfam Pilipinas, delved on the importance of care and a care economy for the functioning of all other parts of the economy. She also presented the proposed National Care Economy Framework which serves as a guide for duty bearers, decision-makers, and advocates in shaping relevant policies and practices. She also well emphasized the need to recognize and value the contributions of care work to address gender inequalities and ensure its integration toward a care-centered society.
Mr. Bernie Berondo, General Manager, Global Organic and Wellness Corporation (GlowCorp), shared their initiatives in supporting women-led and women-owned enterprises. GlowCorp applies WEE principles in its value chain through building women’s skills, launching of women-branded product lines, and highlighting women’s leadership and voice in decision-making. He said that social enterprises can best integrate gender equality and WEE into their core strategies by prioritizing product sourcing from women-led enterprises/groups with strong women’s participation; integrating gender-sensitive workplace policies; highlighting women’s contributions in product branding and storytelling; and providing equal access to resources and opportunities.
Last but not the least, Dr. Rosalinda “Inday” Pineda-Ofreneo, General Manager of the Homenet Multipurpose Cooperative, talked about their work in empowering women home-based workers. She highlighted Homenet’s strong and visible feminist leadership, and its foundation in mutual aid, volunteerism, and democratic and participatory governance –key elements that make it effective in empowering its target group.
The WEE breakout session was moderated by Ms. Catherine Tiongson, EmpowerHer Project Coordinator and Supervising Program and Development Cooperation Specialist of ISEA. It is the first activity organized with the community of practice on WEE called WEE Connect or Connecting for Women’s Economic Empowerment and Unpaid Care and Domestic Work (UCDW). The engaging sharing and discussions during the breakout session sparked interest among participating organizations, many of whom expressed their intent to join the WEE Connect Community of Practice.