If one thing that women all over the world have suffered in the society is the people trying to demean their existence. But for the last couple of years, there have been a lot of efforts by people across the globe to empower women and their existence in the world. The empowerment of a women is essential to make them realize their worth and potential in the face of a patriarchal society.
Philippines is no exception in the matter of working towards empowering women. Women have dealt with self-doubt and low confidence because there haven’t been enough opportunities for them to learn the things they have to survive in the world. The people of Philippines have always believed that there is no better time to be a woman to advance themselves and achieve greater things. From challenging the double standards of the work place, helping them build confidence and self-esteem, to encouraging women to rise above society’s expectations, brands and people have always put women at the heart of their campaigns.
Cream Silk is one such brand and recently the brand joined hands with Edukasyon.ph to launch an online academy program where women can upskill their knowledge and learn about various things through online courses. The online academy program was launched last 29th January 2020 at the Casa de Memoria in Parañaque where the head of the Edukasyon.ph explained that there are 15 online courses for aspiring entrepreneurs, artists and storyteller to choose from. The brand has been using #ConditionedforGreater to trend the campaign online and reach to a mass audience.
Dorothy Dee-Ching, Unilever Philippines’ VP for beauty and personal care explained the reason why this online academy was needed. She said, “We at Cream Silk have always championed the empowerment of the Filipina. We believe that there’s no limit to what the Filipina can achieve”.
The online academy was launched in the presence of the the Cream Silk ambassadors Catriona Gray, Heart Evangelista, Pia Wurtzbach, Lynn Pinugu, Nadine Lustre. The Filipina beauties later shared why women should believe they are #ConditionedforGreater.
Miss Universe 2018, Catriona Gray shared her experience with everyone by explaining that she has always desired to be a beauty queen nit just because of the fame and glory that comes along with it but because of the platform that gives you power to change things for good in the world. She expressed that she wanted to make a difference in the world and help others. “I look up to them and follow in their footsteps as I worked my way towards my own crown but now that I forged my path, I want to inspire women all over the universe to serve others. So, when someone says you’ve done good, don’t settle because good isn’t enough,” she said
Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach’s Miss Universe story is not only an example of how failures are turned into success if you work hard but also gives you a lot of confidence and power to empower or help someone in need. The diva also mentioned that people have stereotype beauty pageants that one must look beautiful and poise to win the crown but, it is much more than that. “Look at the stories of people who’ve made it. Because when you see us now it’s all glamour, but before all this, there are struggles and failures we had to overcome.” She also explained about the times when beauty queen’s self-doubt themselves and their confidence is at the lowest but the zeal to win the title and represent their country has always helped them to overcome their low points.
Heart Evangelista been associated with Cream Silk since she was 19 years old also shared how women can and should believe in themselves without worrying about the failures in life. “Don’t ever be discouraged because the world is created for you to conquer. You must live, you must fail because one day it's going to be part of your personal story that would inspire others to do what you did so go get those dreams. Anything is possible.”
Lynn Pinugu who is a social entrepreneur, co-founder of a non-profit organization that provides quality education and sustainable livelihood to depressed communities in the Philippines; also shared her insights about the need of the empowerment of women in today’s time. She related with the subject with made her remember the challenges she faced while overcoming self-doubt. “For me, self-doubt comes in 3 forms: the fear of not being good enough, the fear of being judged by others especially by women, and the fear of failure. My biggest life lessons came from my worst heartbreaks. I learned to love myself, learned to base my self-worth not on someone else’s validation but through going internally and saying I deserve better and I’m worth it, she said.
Nadine Lustre who was also present at event has stared her career from a very small scale and reached to heights today with her dedication, hard work and confidence that she got from people around her. She learned and worked her way up before she became successful. She shared, “Life's journeys would not always be easy or smooth but there is always room to grow,”
The people, organizations and brands in Philippines have always stayed up the ladder when it comes to working towards empowering women and when they have stories like these by the beauty queens to share, it gives other women the much needed lift to work towards their future.