Empowering Women: RCBC Hexagon Club Spotlights Leadership and Entrepreneurship in their International Women’s Day Webinar
What does it take to become a “great” woman in the field of entrepreneurship?
This question lies at the heart of the webinar titled “Women Driving Change: Insights on Business Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship” held last March 8.
The webinar, organized by Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) Hexagon Club’s Online Experiences, sought to look at the unique experiences of women leaders to see what strategies and insights helped propel them to success in the entrepreneurial landscape.
Intersections in business
It is possible to teach anyone, particularly women, how to be an entrepreneur, said Chiqui Escareal-Go, chief executive officer (CEO) and chief behavioral strategist of training and consultancy company Mansmith and Fielders during her talk titled “Intersections and Pathways of Women in Business.”
She added that an aspiring woman entrepreneur can benefit from being aware of the “intersections” of “destiny”—or parts of her life she has no control over—and the “decisions she makes for herself.”
Escareal-Go was not trained or encouraged by her parents to become an entrepreneur, coming from a generation where women were expected to focus on their families and raising children. But she grew up in a family that also valued education and reading—leading her to excel in school and “to be always where the action is.”
“These spaces allowed me to develop competitiveness and an excellence mindset because I was constantly surrounded by smart people,” she said, adding that the choice of people that you kept ever since you were young would matter when you become a professional. “You rise or you fall to the level of the people that you surround yourself with.”
She focused on being a full-time housewife and mother to her four children for 10 years before joining the workforce as a part-time insurance agent. Eventually, she joined her husband in their family business.
It was when she worked with her husband that she was immersed in the realities of business. “Seeing him as a super risk taker, witnessing first hand his hard work, financial acumen, negotiation skills—he breathed it, it was his life. And that was how I got to learn,” Escareal-Go said.
Having no background in business before joining her husband made her feel like an imposter at first. But it was through hands-on experience that Escareal-Go learned how to cope with the nagging imposter syndrome. “Being a perfectionist and doing things right and doing things well were my ways of mitigating risks,” she said.
Work-life choices, not balance
Escareal-Go recounted having read that women can do two things to overcome their imposter syndrome as an entrepreneur. One is to trick yourself that you are better than you are, and two, build knowledge and skills to undeniable levels of awesomeness.
“Be so good at what you do that they can’t ignore you,” Escareal-Go advised.
She also encouraged women not to seek balance in terms of work and life as balance implies there has to be equal play between the two.
Rather, Escareal-Go said she would rather call this interplay as “work-life choices.” She explained: “Choices have consequences that you have to sort out. Because you can’t have it all. If you do this, this is the consequence. Are you okay with it?”
The need to support women
Meanwhile, in her talk “Journey Towards Social Entrepreneurship Through The GREAT Women Brand,” GREAT Women Brand president and chief visionary officer Jeannie Javelosa emphasized why there is a need to consciously support brands and companies owned by or led by women.
“Yes, it’s all about competencies and the best work that can be delivered. But sometimes, a leg up for our women who own companies, especially those in the starting phases, is really something that we together must be able to do in our country, especially now that the gap between the rich and poor is getting wider and wider,” Javelosa said.
As chief executive of GREAT Women, an advocacy-driven brand that supports women enterprises, Javelosa shared that aspiring and starting women entrepreneurs often feel afraid when they are alone. But when supported by a platform that allows them to “come together to grow,” they are encouraged to excel and succeed.
Women entrepreneurs should acknowledge that society expects them to be able to handle the metaphorical heavier load compared to men. She encourages people to “remember that the woman you work with, their stress level includes that of being a mother, that of being a wife, that of being a boss lady.”
“We really cannot do it alone. It comes together, men and women. And the women who can support each other from the perspective of truly wanting to help change other people and make a much better world,” Javelosa said. “Women, though vulnerable, have strength. And we must harness this together for their businesses and even for their own personal lives. There is that balance we have to find together.”
A culture of inclusivity, diversity and equal opportunities in RCBC
RCBC recognizes its responsibility to promote social progress and among its various initiatives includes women empowerment.
RCBC continues to promote diversity and equal opportunities within its workforce, not only in hiring but also in advancement and attaining positions of senior leadership.This is evidenced by an employee base with a proportion of 64% women, receiving an average of 115 training hours in 2023..
“We continue to do our share in contributing to the UN SDGs. As an organization led by our Chairperson Helen Yuchengco-Dee, who has demonstrated the unique strength of woman leadership for several years now, RCBC promotes women empowerment as espoused by UN SDG 5. We believe in creating a workplace that fosters diversity and equal opportunities for all,” RCBC’s Chief Sustainability Officer Armi Lamberte said.
Hosted by Hexagon Club, RCBC’s premier club for account holders, this webinar aims to catalyze conversations and actions towards empowering women in exploring their fullest potential to assume bigger roles in view of International Women’s month celebrated in March.
