Kalibrr Caps Off International Women’s Month with Girl Boss 2.0

For its first anniversary, Kalibrr Communities once again brought together HR and recruitment professionals to discuss the aspirations, challenges, and successes of women at work, at home, and as leaders and individuals

In March of 2018, Kalibrr hosted its first Kalibrr Communities event, a monthly gathering of professionals centered on human resources, recruitment, and workplace culture, and the related trends, technologies, and growth strategies. In line with International Women’s month, the first gathering was aptly called Girl Boss, and featured top women leaders sharing their views on what it takes to be successful female professionals.

For the anniversary of the Kalibrr Communities series, Kalibrr once again brought back prominent women leaders to further the discussion about female empowerment and achievement with Girl Boss 2.0. Held at Kickstart Ventures in Makati City last March 27th, Girl Boss 2.0 was hosted by Niña Terol, co-founder and Chief Fireball of Kick Fire Kitchen, and was one of the speakers at the event a year prior.

“Continuous improvement is important in the world today, because the pace of change is so fast.”

The first of this year’s speakers was Riza Mantaring, the 4th female president of the Management Association of the Philippines, and the current chairperson of both Sun Life Financial Philippine Holding Co., Inc. and the Sun Life Foundation. Among her many insights, she emphasized the need for women to not get comfortable with the limits they or others may have imposed on them, and how stepping out is the key to change.

“A lot of times, with us women, I find the barrier is in our mind. There are the actual barriers of course, but a lot of the time it’s the limits in our mind. What got you here won’t get you there. [And] If you don’t get out of your comfort zone and try new things, nothing will change.”

Relating how she has faced many challenges as a female executive who also contends with the responsibilities of being a mother and the difficulties of training for marathons, Mantaring also shared how an appreciation for the little things can help both women and men when facing multiple problems and feeling like there is no end in sight.

“Find your rainbow. You’ll always encounter tough times. Times you want to give up already. But, when things are at their worst, it may be the little things that will lift you up, and keep you going.”

“The more you empower others, the more you empower yourself.”

The night’s second speaker was Ruth Yu-Owen, president and CEO of PhilCarbon, a company with a growing portfolio of renewable energy projects; and Co-Founder of Connected Women, an organization that provides women the opportunity to increase their skills, and to work alongside other women for support, guidance and mutual success. As Yu-Owen shared, women can best find their way with the help of the women who have gone before them.

“Women connecting, just being in the same room, is always a good start. Then, I think we can only encourage them (women) to do what they wholeheartedly believe is best for them. That’s whether they decide to be in corporate, be entrepreneurs, or want to be at home.”

She also shared her thoughts on how breaking the barriers imposed on women starts with mindset, and simply not accepting the norm that sometimes comes with gender-inequality.

“It’s always perception. You’re a woman, so you’re perceived to stay home. But you don’t have to. I never thought ‘it’s a man’s world.’ I thought it’s just A world, where if you do things right, you’ll be okay.”

At the end of their presentations, both Mantaring and Yu-Owen, as well as Terol, shared even more thoughtful insights about being successful women in the workplace by fielding questions from the over five dozen professionals in attendance. Be it discussions about how to deal with outdated perceptions about women being leaders and entrepreneurs, to how to be successful at work, at home, and as an individual, all topics were addressed with a great deal of thought and encouragement, all in all making for a fulfilling Girl Boss event.

Interested in the next event? For more information on the Kalibrr Communities, visit Kalibrr on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Kalibrr Communities: Girl Boss 2.0 was held in cooperation with: Kickstart Ventures Incorporated, The American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, V&M Naturals, Human Nature, Sugarhouse, and Posh Pocket Shoes. 

Kalibrr is a technology company that aims to transform how candidates find jobs and how companies hire talent. Placing the candidate experience at the center of everything it does, the company continues to attract the best talent from all over, with more than 2 million professionals and counting. Kalibrr ultimately connects these talents to companies in search of their next generation of leaders.

The only end-to-end recruitment solutions provider in Southeast Asia, Kalibrr is headquartered in Makati, Philippines, with offices in San Francisco, California and Jakarta, Indonesia. Established in 2012, it has served over 18,000 clients, and is backed by some of the world’s most powerful start-up incubators and venture capitalists. These include Y Combinator, Omidyar Network, Patamar Capital, Wavemaker Partners, and Kickstart Ventures.

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