The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) celebrated the 2021 National Women’s Month through a series of gender mainstreaming webinars in line with the theme, “We Make Change Work for Women: Juana Laban sa Pandemya, Kaya!”
The webinar series kicked off on March 15 with the topic, “Gender Sensitivity and Gender-based Discrimination in the Workplace” with Anastacio M. Marasigan Jr., Executive Director of The Library Foundation Sexuality, Health and Rights Educators Collective, Incorporated (TLF SHARE) as the speaker. TLF-SHARE is a non-profit organization engaging government institutions to deliver policy reforms and programs on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression (SOGIE).
Marasigan highlighted that it is essential to practice gender sensitivity in the workplace to avoid the harmful manifestations of gender bias, such as stereotyping, marginalization, and other forms of discrimination.
An orientation to Gender and Development (GAD) concepts was also given to both the staff and the Directors’ Council (DC) on March 22 and 29, respectively. The orientation was led by University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) Associate Professor and Member of the UPLB Gender Center, Dr. Blesshe L. Querijero. She emphasized that the sustainability of the Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources (AANR) sector is intertwined with gender equality.
Present in the GAD orientation to the DC was DOST Assistant Secretary Dr. Diana L. Ignacio. In her opening remarks, she acknowledged the efforts of the Council in gender mainstreaming in the AANR sector both at the technical staff and executive levels.
Gliceria A. Trinidad, Manager of the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) of the Municipality of Los Baños, discussed the highlights and components of a gender-responsive project on March 29. During the last installment of the webinar series, Trinidad discussed the PCAARRD-funded project, “Gender Responsive Sustainable S&T Based Livelihood on Tilapia Cage Culture and Fish Processing for Low-Income Households in Five Coastal Barangays of Los Baños, Laguna.”
Trinidad stressed that one of the steps to achieve gender-responsiveness in a project is not to treat project targets as beneficiaries but as part of the project design, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation.
Aside from the gender mainstreaming webinar series, the Council also conducted a film showing of Hidden Figures on March 26. The film focuses on the contribution of African-American women scientists and innovators to NASA. Lastly, the Council participated in the DOST-wide Purple Mondays initiatives by wearing purple clothing on Mondays. The Philippine Commission on Women selected purple as the color symbolizes justice, dignity, and women empowerment.
The series of activities for Women’s Month was organized and coordinated by the Socio-Economics Research Division’s Gender and Development and Special Projects Unit.
This annual gender mainstreaming activity is pursuant to Proclamation No. 227 Series of 1988, mandating the observance of March as Women’s Role in History Month. The theme, “We Make Change for Women” for 2017-2022, accentuates the pivotal roles women play in nation-building and recognizes the need for women empowerment at all societal levels.