Our History

In 1997, President Fidel V. Ramos, through the endorsement of then Trade Secretary Cesar Bautista and Undersecretary Ernesto V. Ordonez, recognized WomenBizPH as the voice of women in business. Women leaders in different industries were invited to be founding members of WomenBizPH, which was formed to provide a platform to hear about women’s issues in business and to discuss possible policies that could be endorsed to government bodies to help women in general, through business-focused solutions.

During its infancy stage, WomenBizPH was given office space in its premises by the Department of Trade and Industry. In addition, DTI granted certain subsidies in the maintenance of a full time secretariat and an information center/help desk for MSMEs.

Representing women in business, WomenBizPH was invited to join presidential trips and DTI trade missions. Furthermore, WomenBizPH sat in Philippine government-sponsored fora, as well as, in international meetings, such as the APEC Women Leaders Network meetings. DTI endorsed WomenBizPH to international human development agencies like the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

WomenBizPH’s opinion was widely sought in the development of government policies, as well as, industry associations’ position papers. With the inspiration of its Founding Chair, Elena Lim, WomenBizPH held joint meetings with major industry associations like the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Philippines Exporters’ Confederation.

For its part, WomenBizPH launched strategic projects that to address the needs of women in business.

Access to Data

WomenBizPH prompted the inclusion of the contribution of women in business in the Philippine economy by causing the addition of one question in the annual survey of the Philippines Census and Statistics: “What is the economic contribution of the woman in the household to the Philippine economy?”

Overseas, WomenBizPH was cited by the Bureau of Gender Equality, International Labor Office, Geneva Switzerland, as among best practices in the workplace on “Enabling Women’s Businesses to Flourish.”

WomenBizPH trail-blazed the generation of benchmark data on Asian women in business through the conduct of a Three Country Study (Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines) which WomenBizPH did in partnership with the Asian Institute of Management, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Office of Project Services (UNOPS).

In 2015, WomenBizPH saw the completion of the study undertaken by De La Salle University, entitled “Inventory of Entrepreneurship Studies in the Philippines.” This is a comprehensive inventory of women’s entrepreneurship studies in the Philippines, serving as a resource of policymakers, government agendies, NGOs, and other research institutions in their decision-making concerning women’s entrepreneurship policies and programming.

Access to Market

Within a few years, WomenBizPH expanded its reach locally by opening two provincial chapters, i.e. CALABARZON and Butuan, and internationally by conducting trade and selling missions to Australia and Taipei in cooperation with the Philippine Embassies.

Overseas, WomenBizPH was the brainchild behind the formation of the Confederation of Women in Business in Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). It also served as the operations secretariat for its programs and trade presentations. Founding officers were Malaysia for Chair, Philippines for Vice-Chair, Taipei for Secretary, and Thailand for Treasurer, with Indonesia, Australia, Hongkong, and, South Korea as founding members.

Access to Continuing Education

To assist women in business, WomenBizPH published an easy-to-read practical guidebook on how to do business, which was written by Marlane Villareal.

WomenBizPH participated in workshops on environmental protection and preservation, supply chain management, accessing the APEC market, success stories of technology-led business, etc. These were published in the monthly WomenBizPH newsletter and made available in the Secretariat to any interested party.

In collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) WomenBizPH developed modules on entrepreneurship training, such as the Business Start-up Course (BSuC) and the Business Improvement, Survival, and Expansion Course (BISEC). These modules, first given in March 1999, at the Women’s Center in the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), helped crystallize TESDA’s Program of promoting entrepreneurship.

In 2009, WomenBizPH launched its periodical mentoring event, Women Mentoring Women (W2W) Talks, with over 200 women participants attending the first talk. Since then, W2W Talks have taken place, covering topics such as women’s health, access to finance, participation in corporate boards, global networking, leadership skills, and more.

Access to Finance

Solidfying its recognition by the DTI as the voice of women in commerce, WomenBizPH signed a Memorandum of Agreement with major government and private banks to launch Pinay, a collateral-free lending window for women.

In 2014, the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) launched a special loan for women entrepreneurs called Inclusive Lending for Aspiring Women Entrepreneurs (ILAW). This was conceived with the assistance of WomenBizPH.

Overseas, WomenBizPH sponsored a study on how women in business coped during the Asian crisis, citing best practices on how to manage and access finance.

Access to Science and Technology

Both locally and overseas, WomenBizPH launched the Association of Women in Science and Technology in APEC, headed by Dr. Amelou Reyes, with the objective of promoting the commercial production of inventions of women in business.

Access to Networks

WomenBizPH organized the first Asia-Pacific Conference of Women in Business at the Dusit Thani Hotel, which was attended by over 500 delegates from Australia, Brunei, Hongkong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taipei, Thailand, Vietnam, were in attendance.

WomenBizPH sat in the Board of the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women, providing mutual access between different government organizations and international development organizations and women in business.

WomenBizPH participated in conferences, projects, trade missions of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce, Philippine Exporters Confederation, and the Employers Association of the Philippines.

With its CALABARZON and Butuan chapters, WomenBizPH widened its networks. Its Secretariat lent assistance to anyone wishing to connect to suppliers and buyers from APEC countries.

Recognizing that women-related issues are not the responsibility of women alone, WomenBizPH entered into partnerships and sponsorships with male-dominated groups, government agencies and international organizations.

WomenBizPH, the voice of women in business

WomenBizPH was invited as an official delegate to the First Ministerial Meeting on Women held in Manila Hotel.

WomenBizPH keynoted the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) High Level Conference on Sustainable Environment Protection to represent and advocate the plight of women in business in environment conservation efforts. Because SMEs dominate the world in terms of numbers, the main message delivered in the keynote was to ensure its small voice could be heard. Subsequently, WomenbizPH was invited to a strategic meeting held in Paris by the UNEP to better understand the role of SMEs in environment protection.

In 2008, WomenBizPH became the international partner for the Global Summit of Women, with its members attending the yearly gatherings.

In 2013, WomenBizPH jointly published with SGV Foundation, a book celebrating the achievements of the country’s top women entrepreneurs, entitled Aspirations & Inspirations: Filipino Women Entrepreneurs, which was written by Jessica Zafra.

In 2015, WomenBizPH participated as the private sector partner of the Department of Trade and Industry and the Philippine Commission on Women in the Organizing Committee of the APEC Women and Economy Forum held in Manila.

In 2017, WomenBizPH led the formation of the Philippine Women’s Economic Network (PhilWEN), advocating the economic empowerment of women: Women’s Business Council Philippines, Inc. (WomenBizPH), Filipina CEO Circle, Inc. (FCC), Women Corporate Directors Philippines (WCD), Samahan ng mga Pilipina para sa Reporma at Kaunalaran, Inc. (Filipinas for Reform and Development: SPARK), Business and Professional Women Makati (BPW), and Network for Enterprising Women (NEW).  WomenBizPH serves as the permanent chair of the consortium.

WomenBizPH was invited to nurture and launch the Biztour program of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI). This aimed to open regional hubs for tourism and to promote assistance programs to SMEs which were dominated by women.

To promote values and ethical practices in the workplace, WomenBizPH launched a Code of Ethics in the Workplace.