CELEBRATING WOMEN AT THE HELM
TODAY is International Women’s Day. It is a global celebration of the socio, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. Each year, this day serves as a powerful reminder of the progress made towards gender equality and highlights the work that still needs to be done.
This year’s campaign theme is “Inspire Inclusion” which emphasizes the importance of diversity and empowerment in all aspects of society.
This year’s campaign theme underscores the crucial role of inclusion in achieving gender equality. It calls for action to break down barriers, challenge stereotypes, and create environments where all women are valued and respected.
Inspire Inclusion encourages everyone to recognize the unique perspectives and contributions of women from all walks of life, including those from marginalized communities.
One of the key pillars of Inspire Inclusion is the promotion of diversity in leadership and decision-making positions. Women, especially those belonging to underrepresented groups, continue to face barriers when seeking leadership roles. By championing inclusion, organizations and communities can harness the full potential of diverse perspectives leading to better decision-making and innovation.
For this year’s special feature on International Women’s Day, Businessmirror is featuring key women leaders who are making a difference in the companies they work for. They were asked five questions related to their leadership roles and here are their stories.
Cathy Yang, FVP & Group Head, Corporate Communications, PLDT and Smart Host, Cignal TV'S Thought Leaders with Cathy Yang
CATHY Yang is a multi-awarded media personality and corporate leader who, in 2020 reinvented herself, moving beyond media and embracing a corporate communications role in tech and telco at PLDT and Smart. It did not take long before an invitation to host her own talk show on Cignal TV One News came along, and in May 2023, she began hosting, concurrently, “Thought Leaders with Cathy Yang.”
Q: How do you define your leadership style, and how does it differ from your male counterparts?
A: I make no distinction from my male counterparts’ leadership styles, as I think not primarily from a gender lens, but from the perspective of what kind of leadership is called for at any particular point in time.
For instance, my move from media to telco happened at the height of a raging Covid-19 pandemic, a time which pretty much beckoned compassionate leadership, prioritizing my team’s well-being, creating cadences with our assigned alternates, in case anyone of us fell ill or had family members to take care of, so that we could carry on – unhampered – with our work deliverables.
It was also a time that I had combined my PLDT and Smart teams into one Group Corp Comms, a process that required for the most part, purpose-driven leadership. As my team returned to the office following the pandemic lockdowns, getting a grip of our shared sense of direction and commitment had become of paramount importance. So having each one find his or her own personal meaning at work facilitated better outcomes, as ultimately, it made each of us feel we belonged in the team, and ultimately, the wider organization.
The wins we’ve made over the last three years are now leaning towards a coaching leadership style, which does not just involve me, but my whole team, where each one of us is empowered to be a coach – or coachee – to each other, so we’re all keeping ahead of the new skills needed for our ever-evolving jobs. A dynamic blend of these three leadership styles is now what’s coming to define my own, where we get the job done, and done well, not only because we have to, but because we want to.
Q: Who inspired you to become a leader, and what motivated you to take on leadership roles in your profession or organization?
A: Speaking with trailblazers across different industries for the most part of my journalistic career made me curious about what life must be like for those who occupied positions of influence and where decisions impacted many.
Early on in my media career, I had already reveled in securing breaking news first and fastest and in delivering the most visually and editorially impactful news features. I realized then that I am able to do all these as consistently, focusing on great output, when I worked and communicated well with my team. It was apparent that while I was at the forefront of the news gathering, producing and reporting – I, signing off on and owning my stories – it was my teammates not seen on screen – my camera crew, newsroom editors, research staff, production assistants, who enabled me to get the job done, and done well, every single day.
Because of this, I had a great appreciation right off the bat of the
importance of teamwork. I have since taken a particular interest in leading various teams, proud to recall that the interest to lead – and serve – started right on the field, when I was still a reporter. This collaborative mindset helped me transition to my corporate role, now backed by my dynamic Group Corp Comms team. And now, with my concurrent role as Host of “Thought Leaders with Cathy Yang,” I am able to lead yet another team, this time under Cignal TV. And I am honored to see that the teamwork we’re nurturing from both sides has started to reap rewards and recognition.
Q: What barriers have you faced as a woman in leadership and how did you overcome them?
A: I have generally found myself in the good company of women supporting women in media as well as in tech and telco. I have likewise found myself in the good company of men who help support women. So I hold the view that behind every successful woman is a an equally supportive, successful man. I’d like to think the reverse is true just as much: that behind every successful man, is an equally supportive, successful woman.
I have however come across women leaders who have faced challenges because they are women. And it is heartening to learn from them that among other things, they’ve overcome such barriers by just being prepared for every meeting. Because from there springs forth one’s natural confidence to speak and be heard. As a journalist, preparation has always been key. As a corporate leader, I have learned that such rigor is just as indispensable to achieving better outcomes.
Q: What benefits do you see in having women in leadership positions and how can we calculate the positive impacts of their contributions?
A: Well, we’ve seen collective women power at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, where countries led by women had seen better outcomes. Research revealed the relative successes of locking down earlier in countries led by women, such as Germany’s Angela Merkel, New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern, Demark’s Mette Frederiksen, Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen and Finland’s Sanna Marin. Their proactive and coordinated policy responses saved lives.
Several studies suggest companies with strong female leadership at the executive level correlate with improved ESG performance. Women in leadership positions likewise serve as the driving force behind philanthropic initiatives. Female executives are actively involved in CSR programs, channeling corporate resources towards socially impactful projects such as in education and healthcare.
Female leaders also bring a diversity of thought and experience, fostering stronger innovation. Credit Suisse’s report on Gender Diversity and Corporate Performance revealed companies with women in senior management positions tended to be more innovative, helping companies on average to reach higher returns on equity. On the other hand, Morgan Stanley’s Holistic Equal Representation Score gender diversity framework indicated firms with greater gender diversity celebrated better share price performance than less gender-diverse firms.
Embracing female leadership is not just a matter of strategic imperative, but an ethical one. Companies that recognize the immense value women bring to the table are better positioned to thrive.
Q: What advice would you give to young women who want to make a difference?
A: Slap on that sunblock, scour the expanse before you, and find your mojo. It is only in starting from the trenches you gain respect. So work it, and earn it. Stay hungry learning anything new. Help whenever you can. Be grateful. And when you’ve made it high enough in your career to be able to see the amazing horizon, don’t just stand there. Take a selfie and share it! Share your time and talent. For you were once there needing to learn the most when you were just finding out the meaning of You.
Arlyn L. Songco, Senior Vice President, Creative Communications and Sales Services Division, Makati Medical Center
ARLYN Songco has been with Makati Medical Center since 2008 where she started out as the Director of the Marketing and Communications Division. Prior to that she worked at EPLDT Inc., Bayan Telecommunications, Inc. Globe Telecom and Magnolia Corporation. She even started her own flower business.
At Makati Medical Center, Songco spearheads the strategic execution of revenue generating programs and leads the Healthhub Operations team. She also champions the creative and communications programs of the institution, leading to various Anvil and Quill Awards for its projects.
Q: How do you define your leadership style, and how does it differ from your male counterparts?
A: Because my field is on creative and sales/business development, my leadership style leans towards the visionary and coaching styles. Being in these “development” functions, I foster a relaxed environment to encourage collaboration after I have laid out a vision or an idea/concept for the team member to work on. As a woman, we are innately nurturers so coaching comes like second nature whether to a male or female staff – which may be a challenge for male leaders.
Q: Who inspired you to become a leader, and what motivated you to take on leadership roles in your profession or organization?
A: Being very decisive, efficient, organized, and analytical paved the path for me to become a leader. I first saw how a leader “must not be” which made me strive harder to become my ideal leader to subordinates – starting with just one assistant which grew to a handful then eventually to a big division.
Q: What barriers have you faced as a woman in leadership, and how did you overcome them?
A: Luckily, I became a leader when women leaders were already common in the industries I joined. Among the barriers I encounter are work-family life balance for a full-time mother and gender bias. Work-family life balance was achieved with a supportive spouse in a give-and-take relationship. Overcoming gender bias came naturally as my colleagues finally accepted that they can have a female superior and/or colleague who can achieve or do more than what they can.
Q: What benefits do you see in having women in leadership positions, and how can we calculate the positive impacts of their contributions?
A: Women in leadership positions soften the organization and become key transformation advocates which lead to increased collaboration among the staff. As women are seen to be more compassionate, creative, outgoing, sensitive, and nurturing than men, conversations among staff are encouraged and discussions become more open as each is given a chance to speak up. Having women leaders alone is already seen as promoting equality in an organization.
Q: What advice would you give to young women who want to make a difference?
A: Don’t settle for second best if you know you can be the best at what you do. As women, we are already laden with responsibilities (family) and expectations (cultural and societal), so we either pace up or do more. Read and read (or watch), keep learning and upskilling, interact with different types of people and be genuinely interested in them, travel whenever you can, speak and converse well with correct grammar and proper diction, dress up and dress well. These are just some tips that will already put you ahead without effort, in any situation.