April 27, 2023 — The UP Manila Center for Gender and Women Studies (UPM-CGWS) celebrated Women’s Month 2023 with the theme “WE (Women and Everyone) for Gender Equality and Inclusive Society” signifying the collective efforts of women and everyone in the pursuit of gender equality. It also represents women’s empowerment which can only be achieved when agencies, mechanisms, institutions, private partners, and duty-bearers at the national and local levels provide women with equal rights and opportunities; and when women seize these opportunities to further their progress.

The celebration featured a diverse lineup of empowering events. These included breast and cancer screenings organized by the College of Pharmacy (CP) at the DepEd Manila Office and a Learning Resource Center-hosted face-to-face workshop titled “#IamRemarkable” on March 11.

During the opening program on March 13, Dr. Emely D. Dicolen, professor at the UP National Teacher Training Center for the Health Professions (UP-NTTCHP), spoke on the topic, “Empowering Women in Health Sciences Education.” Webinars on debt management, contouring, and workplace empowerment organized by UP Manila College of Pharmacy (UPM-CP), Office of Student Affairs (OSA), and Human Resource Development Office (HRDO) were held on March 15, 22, and 24 respectively.

In her opening remarks, UP Manila Chancellor Carmencita Padilla asserted that women are the primary caregivers in almost all cultures demonstrating bold and dynamic leadership under extreme adversity and conditions. When empowered and deeply engaged, women are effective partners in health education, advocacy, research and promotion programs. She noted that during the unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, countries with women leaders were observed to have achieved superior outcomes.

On March 20, the UP Manila College of Nursing (UPCN) hosted a webinar entitled “Addressing Pride and Prejudice: Gender Sensitivity in the Healthcare Setting”. On March 30, UPCP and UP Manila Creche conducted the “Kwentuhan sa Creche”.

The celebration concluded with a forum titled “BREAKING BARRIERS: Stories of Filipino Women Pioneers in Surgery” on March 31 where speakers Dr. Josefina Almonte, Dr. Ma. Concepcion Vesagas, and Dr. Esther Saguil attested to the diverse talents, achievements, and contributions of women in the health community and the promotion of gender equality and empowerment.

Employees were encouraged to wear anything purple on all Wednesdays of March to signify support for gender equality and women empowerment. Purple is recognized internationally as the color of women and gender equality.

“Hindi matatawaran ang papel at kontribusyon ng kababaihan sa lipunan. Sila ay mga bayaning dapat kilalanin at parangalan. Ang pagrespeto, pagtatanggol, at pagtataguyod sa karapatan ng mga kababaihan laban sa karahasan, diskriminasyon, at pagsasamantala ang pinakamatingkad na manipestasyon ng ganitong pagkilala,” stated UP Manila Vice Chancellor Nymia Pimentel-Simbulan.

Charmaine Lingdas