In celebration of the National Women’s Month this year, the Port Management Office of Misamis Oriental/Cagayan de Oro organized activities for all their women employees during the first week of March declared as “Woman’s Week.”

The theme, “We Make Change Work for Women,” has been the annual theme of the celebration since 2017, which aims to highlight women empowerment, gender equality, and recognizing the contribution of women to development and nation-building.

On 04 March 2020, a forum on health and wellness was conducted in the GAD Hall of PMO Administrative Building 2. The resource speaker, Ms. Lyle Justin Laid, a regional Trainor of a private organization, shared tips on how to maintain a healthy body and mind amid busy and demanding jobs for working women. She said that health must always be prioritized. After the forum, the participants availed of the services such as manicure, pedicure, full body massage, eyelash perming, hair color, and simple haircut in the same venue.

By Friday, 05 March, another forum relative to the Women’s Month celebration was held which was attended also by male employees. The guest speaker, Sansehry B. Delos Santos, a GAD Coordinator at Bukidnon State University, gave a short discussion on areas on Gender Sensitivity, Gender-fair language, and Gender Equality.

After the talk, a forum was opened for all the participants. Few shared their personal experience about women working in the operations of the PMO which requires shifting schedule or graveyard shifts. Employees had an exchange of opinions on gender equality in the workplace. At present, the PPA and the PMO MO/C offer better career opportunities for both men and women. In the PMO MO/C, some Division Managers and Terminal Managers are women, and many others are Unit Heads.

The PMO not only endeavors to empower women but also strives to promote equality across genders through various activities under its Gender and Development (GAD) program. — by IMR Lam