The Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FMDS) celebrated National Women’s Month with a Let’s Talk It Over (LTIO) lecture on Situating Women in the Economy and Environment on 27 March 2018 to discuss the role of women in two important sectors of society: the economy and environment. The lecture followed the Women’s Month theme “We Make Change Work for Women” to recognize the role of women as active drivers of positive change and their right to equally benefit from these changes.
Dr. Primo G. Garcia, Dean of FMDS, opened the activity by highlighting the strong commitment of the Faculty to promote the inclusion of women in the development of the economy, society and environment through activities such as the LTIO.
For the first lecture, Dr. Nathalie Lourdes A. Verceles, Director of the UP Center for Women’s and Gender Studies (UPCWGS) and Assistant Professor at the Department of Women and Development Studies (DWDS) in UP Diliman, shared her dissertation on “Livelihood Practices of Women in the Formal Economy: Forging Pathways Towards a Feminist Solidarity Economy“. She noted that it is imperative to remove division of labor grounded on stereotypes about men and women to enable both genders to work in the reproductive and productive spheres according to their preference. Dr. Verceles also highlighted the importance of supporting women’s reproductive with child care provisions and equitable household task delegation to advance women’s full participation in the economy.
The second lecture was about women and the environment. Dr. Thelma R. Paris, an independent consultant and former gender specialist for Climate Change in Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and Faculty In-Charge (FIC) for Diploma in Women and Development (DWD) Program, talked about “Making Women’s Roles in Environmental Sustainability Visible through Gender Research“. Dr. Paris discussed the key role of women in food security especially in Southeast Asia and noted that climate change affects both men and women in different ways and their capacity to adapt is also gendered. Dr. Paris reiterated that policies, projects, and programs will be more effective and efficient when gender considerations are made.
Asst. Prof. Rameses A. De Jesus, Director of Office of Gender Concerns (OGC), closed the activity which was the last event for UPOU’s month-long observance of the National Women’s Month. The FMDS LTIO lecture was made possible through the support of OGC which has laid out gender mainstreaming activities for the whole year.
