EmpowHER: Celebrating Women of Greatness

by Monette Iturralde-Hamlin / April 24, 2023

What an exciting day! Last April 19, I was invited as one of two speakers at Globe’s event entitled EmpowHER: Celebrating Women of Greatness at the Shangri-La EDSA Garden Ballroom. Gathering accomplished and empowered women leaders from the Top 150 enterprises in the Philippines, the exclusive post-Women’s Month and early Mothers’ Day event not only inspired the women with the stories shared by the speakers but also treated them to an afternoon of pampering at the Chi Spa, and some make-up tutorial by Bobbi Brown. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the wellness talk of Nature Maramag-Calderon, Globe’s VP and Head of Strategy and CX Culture, where she guided us to reflect on the woman that I am, and the leader that I am, using the Net Promoter Score applied to our personal life. 

A wonderful speaker, Nature is warm, authentic, and compassionate. Curious, I asked her where she got her name, Nature, as it was quite unique. She said both her parents wanted that for her as they loved the outdoors but added a Marie as a second time because at that time, you had to have a Catholic name to be baptized in church. How apt, as now Nature is very much grounded into the natural, being a holistic wellness advocate teaching yoga and mindfulness on the side. 

Nature asked us to pick a card, get a partner from another table, and then describe to each other how the cards we picked represented us. Well, my card was entitled Versatility, and it had a woman’s hands holding together several orange-colored leaves, each one distinct from the other by their shape, their hue, and their veins. What a coincidence, I thought, as I was wearing a pastel orange dress! It called to me, nay, it shouted at me, “This is you, Monette.” Each leaf represented an aspect of my life, which I held together. It was my different life roles, as daughter, sister, mother, friend, colleague, boss, mentor. It was the different advocacies I championed, the different organizations I led or belonged to.

My partner picked a card of children hugging each other, and she said that hugs are human connection when words fail us, and they always make us feel better. So, we hugged each other, and it was the best part of the day!

At the end, Nature gave us each a card and said we could keep it. Mine was HILING and underneath it said, “My wish is granted.” And the question it asked is what wishes remain unspoken? It got me thinking and reflecting on what I still yearn for. I am keeping that card close to me and sending a message out to the universe, with the prayer that my hiling would be granted. 

Huge thanks to the partners I interacted with for that exercise: Katrina Ponce-Enrile, Marie Tan and Pia Gonzalez-Colby! I deeply value your openness in sharing. Maraming salamat!

Days before, when my friend Ronald Gonzales who heads Events for Globe Telecom asked me for a title for my talk, I playfully suggested this: “They said ‘No, you can’t.’ I said, ‘Yes, I can.’” You see, I’ve heard this said many times in my life from people meaning well. And if I had listened and believed, then I wouldn’t have ventured out and taken the risks I have. But one thing drilled into me, growing up surrounded by strong women, was that I could achieve things if I set my mind to it and worked really hard.

This was the message I wished to convey in my talk as I shared my life story, together with all its ups and downs, from losing my dad at ten years old; to buckling down to study so I could find work to take care of my mom and my family; to going up the publishing career ladder only to be let go when new owners of the magazine took over; to setting up my company, TeamAsia, 30 years ago and building it to what it is now, an award-winning agency that creates and sustains visibility for brands through integrated marketing strategies; to surviving so many challenges from the Asian financial crisis, SARS, and COVID; and to taking on various advocacies in women empowerment, education, tourism, and global competitiveness of talent, among others.

At the end, I shared some lessons I learned in my journey, like following your passion, choosing a partner wisely, embracing change and keeping on learning, building your network, getting the right people and investing in them, delivering on your promises, finding role models and mentors, and autographing your work with excellence always.

I reminded the ladies present not to let anyone stop them from doing what they want. And that as long as they put their heart and passion into it, work hard and do their best, they can achieve great things. I also urged them to give back, to hold the door open for other women who may not have the same advantages and opportunities that they have.

Several women came up to me later to say they were touched, that they got teary-eyed, and that they were inspired by what I had shared. Some even said they related to my experiences and felt I was telling their story. This goes to show that we women have so much in common, and could do so much to help each other. And while there will always be challenges, we can overcome them, with grit, with grace, and with prayer. 

I truly and firmly believe that when women support other women, great things happen.

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