According to the Global Gender Gap Report, remaining to be the top country in Asia in terms of closing the gender gap is the Philippines. The Philippines has closed roughly 78% of its overall gender gap, however, despite these statistics, it is a known fact that women are still quite at a disadvantage. Women are still fighting for gender equality, most especially in the workplace, and the tech industry falls under one of those areas where women are underrepresented.
This is coming to an end.
Taryn Navarro and Angela Tiotangco-Alvarez, the two proud founders of six businesses, all of which revolve around technology, show great examples by proving that women can do anything–and that includes thriving in the world of technology. “Women in Technology”: it has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?
We asked our two Leading Ladies to answer some questions, not only to learn more about what they do and how they do it, but also to give other aspiring business women something to draw inspiration from–no matter what the workplace says about your gender.
Can you tell us about your businesses and where you drew inspiration from to start them?
ACT Digital and Design was born out of the desire to break traditions through digital solutions. Anj and I met in a media project about four years ago, and from there, we’ve been working together and found that our partnership really strived in digital and tech. We take pride in creativity and design. But setting that aside, we’d like to believe that every single project that we launched over the years were solutions to problems we encounter day to day. Triple PH, Flavored PH, Palawan Local Market, The Scoop Asia and Room Koe – these are the different brands that our team launched, each with a different soulful purpose.
When your businesses began, what obstacles were thrown at you and how were you able to overcome them?
Starting out, the hardest part was having our clients trust us enough to invest in the services that our company offered. When we didn’t have the experience yet, we had to make sure that our pitches were backed up with a killer portfolio.
The next and most important challenge we encountered as entrepreneurs in the start-up industry was having our employees trust our vision. In any company, we believe that our employees are as important as our clients. They bring life to your vision. Their behaviors drastically change, leaning towards wanting to be more, do more – and it’s a challenge for us to be able to give that to them and make sure it aligns with what our company believes in.
How did the pandemic affect your business and what steps did you take to adjust?
Thankfully, in terms of how we operated the company, we didn’t do any major adjustments. We were used to the work-from-home set-up because of the nature of our businesses. That’s the beauty of digital and tech – and we’re happy that we have been able to provide that comfort to our team.
Do you see major changes happening to your businesses once this pandemic is over?
Yes, of course. This year, Anj and I went into serious planning about how we will proceed once the pandemic is over. A lot of businesses have considered doing their digital marketing all in-house, which puts our primary business, Triple PH in a tight spot. It’s the true nature of business – you always have to be ready, whether there’s a pandemic or not.
What advice would you like to give other Filipinas who aspire to start their own businesses?
If you have an idea, don’t just think about it. Don’t just write it down. Do it. Bring your idea to life with what you currently have. There’s no such thing as the perfect time. Everybody starts from somewhere, it’s just a matter of when.
There’s nothing more inspiring than seeing women break gender stereotypes and showing the world that we are capable of so much more than what is traditionally expected of us.
It’s time to decrease the gender gap in the world of technology… one woman at a time.
