BEYOND THE GLASS CEILING: A Conversation on Women and Leadership

As Zonta clubs worldwide start the changeover to a new set of officers and board of directors for the next biennium, Zonta Club of Cebu II, Philippines deemed it critical and expedient to organize a Leadership Development webinar for their members, partners, beneficiaries and other community organizations to achieve a successful and seamless leadership transition. The webinar, “Beyond the Glass Ceiling: A Conversation on Women and Leadership” took place on 23 April 2022 via the Zoom platform.

It was a privilege to have Atty. Myrish Cadapan Antonio, Senior Director for Fellowships and Global Initiatives at the Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship at MIT as the resource speaker. Atty. Antonio, a graduate of Silliman University in the Philippines, George Washington University Law School and Harvard Kennedy School, has extensive experience in Leadership Development Programs centered on principled, effective public leadership, and women in leadership positions.

The webinar focused on contextual barriers that still exist among Filipino women limiting our ability to lead, why our leadership matters and how we, individually and collectively, can claim our rightful seat at the table. The discussion highlighted how inequality between men and women influences attitudes and assumptions regarding women’s career paths and advancement opportunities.
Atty. Antonio presented practical tips and techniques that the participants could use to change the patriarchal gender norms that are held by political leaders, business executives, corporate boards, academic institutions and civil society/community groups that will, in the long run, create space for women and girls to actively participate in leadership positions.