Articles

by GERC Inc.

A gender-fair cooperative can put into action in many ways its advocacy and commitment to gender and development (GAD), leading to the attainment of gender equality (GE). The co-op’s gender-sensitive officers, staff, and members can make full use of their creativity and resources as they mainstream GAD—putting into practice the policies that integrate gender to the co-op operations, and also the GAD-related local and national government circulars and laws. For instance, Tagum Cooperative (TC) established in March 2016 its breastfeeding room in its main office in Magugpo West, Tagum City, Davao del Norte, Philippines. The room is at the entrance to TC’s main office (ground floor of its building), thus it is very accessible to members who are transacting business at the Co-op even if they may need to nurse children that they had to bring along. The breastfeeding room is TC’s response to members’ needs and also in compliance with the “Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009.”

 TC’s well-lighted and well-ventilated breastfeeding room is equipped with seats, a changing table, and a sink. The room is but one of the latest ways through which TC has been mainstreaming GAD and achieving GE that enables the Cooperative to deliver even more economic and social benefits to its women-members and men-members.

TC is celebrating in 2017 its 50th anniversary with the theme “Tagum Cooperative: Golden Era of Success and Excellence.” TC’s GAD advocacy began in the early 1990s amid much opposition from some people in the Co-op (including mostly male officers) whose traditional mindset doubted women’s capacity to be good leaders and to be members who can really contribute to the organization’s development. But the reality at that time was that women were already more than the majority of TC’s membership and were already making a major contribution to the Co-op’s resources. Amid challenges and the “battle in the TC Boardroom” for gender, TC’s GAD advocates (although they were still fewer in number at that time) did not give up.

Soon enough, TC was achieving the “impossible dream” as it was vanquishing the “slippery ladder” and breaking down the “glass ceiling” for women empowerment and GE. The Co-op was addressing gender issues and institutionalizing relevant policies, resources, programs, and activities to benefit both women and men. But while TC’s GAD advocates were battling for gender in the Co-op, the organization itself was also struggling with corruption and mismanagement. However, genuine cooperation among those who really cared for the Co-op was able to stop the corruption and mismanagement that almost totally crippled the Co-op. Today, TC’s many branches deliver a wide array of services enjoyed by its young and adult members from different sectors. TC is one of the country’s most progressive co-ops and also one of the country’s most gender-fair co-ops, with gender-sensitivity being among the hallmarks of excellence of its leadership, staff, and membership.

TC hosts many study-visits of co-ops, and it is a frequent site for co-op benchmarking. TC has garnered many awards and recognition from different government, non-government, and co-op organizations/agencies in the Philippines and abroad. Among the awards that TC has long been receiving for its organization and for its leadership are its awards for GAD advocacy and transformative leadership/governance. For instance, as early as 2006, TC’s good practice of transformative leadership was already recognized when it won the “Transformative Individuals and Organizations Asian Cooperative (TRIO) Award” for the organizational category. In 2008, Ms Evelia Sator, Ed. D, a cooperator since her student days who later became a TC officer, was awarded the TRIO Award for individual category. Dr. Sator is currently a member of the TC Board of Directors, and also Chairperson of the MASS-SPECC Cooperative Development (MASS-SPECC) in the Mindanao region and Chairperson of MASS-SPECC’s GAD Committee. The TRIO Award honored co-ops and cooperators for exemplifying the practice of transformative leadership in self, co-ops, and communities. The Award was bestowed by the Asian Women in Co-operative Development Forum (AWCF), a regional (Asia) resource center and advocacy body on gender and co-ops, which is the precursor in the Philippines of the Gender Equality Resource Center (GERC) Inc.

TC was set up by 38 pioneers in 1967 with PhP80 share capital. As of December 2016, the Co-op has almost 77,000 members (and almost 52,000 users of services); PhP4.372 billion worth of assets; PhP1.416 billion total share capital; PhP2.059 billion total members’ deposits; and PhP326.05 million net surplus. The billionaire-co-op that it is, TC always prioritizes the source of its stability, that is, the member-owners and their families. TC’s mainstreaming of GAD and also its GAD-FEP (GAD-Family Enrichment Program) help the Co-op enrich and strengthen members’ families (including the youth in the families) through gender awareness and education, couples’ discussions, livelihood skills training, etc. TC is the resource center for gender in its region in Mindanao. Indeed, TC has done much, much more and continues to do even more for its GAD advocacy than what this just quick look at the Co-op can explain to the readers. For more information, please see tagumcooperative.coop

by GERC Inc.

In celebration of the 2017 “National Women’s Month” and “International Women’s Day,” we recall the poem "Paninindigan" written by Ms Corazon "Ka Azon" L. Echano, member of the Training, Education, Research, and Development (TERD) Committee of the Cooperative Union of Taguig and Pateros (COUNTPA), Philippines. Ka Azon was inspired to write this poem and other poems after gaining new learning and insights on gender equality (GE) from the gender-sensitivity training (GST) and trainer’s training on gender that she attended in Baguio City, Philippines, February 2016. The training was conducted by GERC Inc.

GERC Inc. requested Ka Azon to share her poem with the participants of the “2nd National Summit on Gender and Development (GAD) in Cooperatives” in Baguio City in March 2016 as a pledge or commitment to pursue GE. The Summit was co-organized by the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) and GERC Inc., in partnership with the Asian Women in Co-operative Development Forum (AWCF). Co-ops and GAD advocates/trainers can use this poem in gender-related events, with due acknowledgment to the author Ka Azon.

Message of the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) for the National Women's Month celebration of the Philippines

During last year’s National Women’s Month Celebration (NWMC), the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) called for the inclusion of women’s issues and concerns in the development agenda of the incoming government. The call continues to reverberate this year as we endeavor to ensure that the reforms that the government espouses will work for both women and men.  After all, true compassion and real change can only be achieved when women and men work hand-in-hand to foster an environment that is empowering to both sexes. Thus, our theme for this year's observance is "WE Make Change Work for Women."
 

Image: PCW

In making these changes work for Juanas, we need to foster an environment that enables women to pursue her passion and be able to meaningfully engage in whatever endeavor she hopes to achieve. Thus, we call on our development partners, both from government, non-government and private sectors to promote citizen-centric governance and make change a conscious effort to know, understand, and provide what all citizens need. If we inform and engage women and girls as our stakeholders, we make the fruits of change real and relevant in their lives.
 
Every woman has innate potentials that can only be unleashed if she embraces her own empowerment to make positive changes. Thus, women should never be afraid of change; instead, let us harness our abilities and become innovators and potent agents of positive and significant changes in society. Many Filipino women and girls have already broken gender stereotypes and have succeeded in various fields.  Let us remember, honor and thank them for helping us become one step closer to gender equality. Let change unravel our strength and resilience by making us wiser and compassionate through time.
 
But the challenge does not stop here; making changes and working for development is not solely a woman’s responsibility. Men, especially those who are in power and decision-making positions, must also consider that women and girls, especially those from the marginalized and vulnerable sectors, have the right to participate and engage  in all development efforts. Mutual respect, solidarity, peace, and human dignity is at the core of a progressive nation that we all want to achieve.
 
Lastly, there is no better way to women's empowerment and gender equality than the full implementation of the Magna Carta of Women (MCW) down to the barangay level. We have to make women’s rights real in the lives of women and girls. We cannot rest if we still see an increasing number of cases of violence against women. We cannot talk about quality healthcare if Filipino women still die of pregnancy-related causes. We need to create not only jobs, but also provide access to finance, technology, and training in order to expand women's economic opportunities.  We need to revisit what young people learn in school so that stereotypes that reinforce inequalities are removed from our educational materials and modules. Women’s voices, their experiences and perspectives, must be heard in discussions about rural development, peace, urban development and housing, resiliency and disaster risk reduction, climate change, access to justice, and overall national development. There is no better way to do this than having more women in top level and decision-making positions in government and in the private sector. And as the UN-Women theme says -- "Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030!"
 
Thus, we call on our partners in government, in non-government and civil society organizations, academe and the private sector to continue working for the elimination of abuse and exploitation, discrimination and disparities.  Let us re-commit to the full implementation of the Magna Carta of Women and all women-related laws.  Let us work for true CHANGE through Compassionate and Harmonized Actions and Networks for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of all women and girls.  Our CHANGE shall move towards attaining our AmBisyon 2040 of a strongly rooted (matatag), comfortable (maginhawa), and a secure (panatag) life for all Filipinos. 
 
Let us continue to become agents of change and become the change which we envision to see!
 
Isang Maligaya't Makabuluhang Pagdiriwang ng Buwan ng Kababaihan!

Source: http://pcw.gov.ph/article/pcw-message-2017-national-women%E2%80%99s-month-celebration

In 2013, the Philippine government agency Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) issued Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 2013-22 that is known as the "Guidelines in Mainstreaming Gender and Development (GAD) in Cooperatives." The guidelines in MC No. 2013-22 will help co-ops in the Philippines pursue a clear path in achieving gender equality (GE). MC No. 2013-22 has these salient features:

• disseminates to the co-op sector the GAD mandate of the government so as to ensure the promotion of GE and institutionalization of GAD in policies, programs, and other activities of co-ops
• mandates the monitoring of progress in the implementation of GAD programs and activities of cooperatives toward achieving GE
• describes GAD mainstreaming's aspects; mechanisms and instruments; and the functions and responsibilities of all advancing gender in the co-ops.

CDA’s formulation and issuance of MC 2013-22 came amid declarations and calls for action by Philippine co-ops. The co-ops urged CDA as the lead government agency in co-op development in the country to take strong and positive steps so that co-ops can become gender-aware thus helping them become even more progressive.