By Lane Afable, News Editor
Former Secretary of Social Welfare and Development Judy Taguiwalo called on the UPLB Ugnayan ng Pahinungod volunteers who would eventually serve as public servants to be guided by integrity, compassion, and competence (ICC).
Taguiwalo, a former UP faculty regent, social worker, and social activist, issued this call in her talk on women and leadership at the UPLB Ugnayan Ng Pahinungod forum on “Women Leading Change in Public Service,” at the UPLB Rural Economic Development and Renewable Energy Center recently.
While Taguiwalo acknowledged that practicing ICC in leadership roles in public service is not gender-based, she did encourage more women to become leaders.
“ICC transcends gender in the context of Philippine public service. Integrity is a moral choice, not a biological trait. Competence is built through merit and experience. Compassion is a universal human value,” Taguiwalo said.
Taguiwalo noted that women are still given limited opportunities to occupy leadership roles compared to men.
She said that women are hindered from taking up leadership positions due to four barriers: the care burden, “glass ceiling,” social bias, and social class.
According to Taguiwalo, women are expected to be the primary caregivers, taking on multiple responsibilities in the family, which impacts their ability to advance in their professions. The glass ceiling, on the other hand, imposes the level at which a woman will reach in her career.
There is also a social bias that sees empathy as a negative trait that hinders rational decision-making.
“People generalize women leaders to be more emotional rather than having empathy,” Taguiwalo explained.
She also highlighted how social class affects women’s ability to advance in their careers, with those who cannot afford support systems such as “yayas” or child carers having to take on domestic responsibilities, thus limiting their time for professional endeavors.
In closing, Taguiwalo said that ICC in public service demands transforming the bureaucracy and public service and shifting from an elite-dominated system to one where the people are the actual bosses of public servants.
“This endeavor would require education and organization to unlearn decades of dependence and subservience to politicians and to act in a collective manner to bring about change,” Taguiwalo pointed out.
