In celebration of United Nations (UN) Women International Girls in ICT Day, GCash signed the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles Commitment. Here’s what it means.

Although the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector has been male-dominated for a long time, recent years have shown an increase in women working and pursuing careers in the tech space. In fact, a study by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) stated that women comprised 35% of the country’s tech workforce in the Philippines alone.

“Southeast Asian technology companies have a strong track record of hiring women—better, in fact, than tech companies in many developed countries,” the report from BCG read. “Yet the region has further to go in order to reach true parity in the number of women who work in tech compared with other industries.”

The answer? Boosting gender diversity, specifically in technology industries. After all, the same study finds that companies with more women in their workforce and in their leadership teams show better performance. This, in turn, can influence a more vibrant technology center that can help a country’s economy grow.

That being said, GCash—the country’s leading mobile wallet—signed the UN Women Empowerment Principles Commitment in celebration of the United Nations Women International Girls in ICT Day. Celebrated every fourth Thursday in April, the occasion stresses the importance of girls in ICT and encourages more women to pursue their studies and a career in the field of Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

The UN Women Empowerment Principles Commitment, Explained

The UN Women Empowerment Principles Commitment further establishes GCash’s long-standing commitment to the UN’s goal to promote three pillars: diversity, equity, and inclusion. Furthermore, under this agreement, the company will be encouraging and implementing initiatives that provide opportunities for present and future tech leaders—regardless of gender.

In fact, as a fintech company that values gender equality, diversity, and inclusion as a strong and integral part of its work culture, GCash’s workforce proudly comprises 46% of women leaders, which include its CEO. This is higher than the industry average of 28%. 

Shining the Spotlight on Notable Women Leaders

With the theme “Empowering Women in Tech”, GTalks aims to inspire all women to make their mark in fintech by hearing different perspectives from various women leaders in the industry. This GTalks, however, was more special, as it commemorated the UN Women International Girls in ICT Day.

The program started with a talk by UN Women country coordinator Rosalyn “Lenlen” Mesina and culminated with GCash president and CEO Martha Sazon, where the UN Women Empowerment Principles agreement was also signed.

Different personalities from the tech business also made their appearance, including Connected Women co-founder Gina Romero, For the Women Foundation co-founder Michelle Alarcon, GCash chief technology operations officer Pebbles Sy, and GCash chief people officer Robert Gonzales. Renowned journalist Karen Davila moderated the program, too.

“We at GCash are committed to [ensuring] we uphold diversity, equality, and inclusivity in our everyday culture. We are proud to have created a space where women, or any gender, can thrive, and their success is normal and always celebrated,” Sazon said.

GCash: An Advocate of a Safe, Diverse, and Inclusive Work Culture

Beyond offering safe and convenient services to Filipinos wherever they may be, GCash remains steadfast in its initiatives to become a leading advocate of safe, diverse, and inclusive work culture in pursuit of its vision of achieving “Finance for all”.

In fact, the company strictly adheres to three UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), namely, Gender Equality (SDG 5), Reduced Inequality (SDG 10), and Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8). This helps the company create decent and productive employment that fosters both personal and economic growth—all while making sure no employee is discriminated against based on age, gender, race, disabilities, marital status, personal beliefs, religion and spiritual practices, political affiliation, gender identification, and sexual orientation.