Empowering the Filipina with #AhonPinay

Ahon Pinay is an advocacy that celebrates the modern-day heroine in every Filipina, aiming to eliminate boundaries in gender professional capabilities and to open dialogue on issues women face in their respective industries.

Various groups have already put gender equality under the spotlight. Among them are Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) which have adopted the theme “Kapakanan ni Juana, Isama sa Agenda!” (Include Women in the Agenda) and have already actively called for gender-balance in leadership and decision making positions in public and private sector.

LOCAL EFFORTS

In partnership with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) of the Philippines, Ariel through its #AhonPinay campaign, have recently signed an agreement to implement a program that will empower women in the workplace, particularly in the technical-vocation (tech-voc) sector. The TESDA-Ariel partnership will enable the implementation of evening classes for competency-based training in several tech-voc courses that are traditionally male-dominated like Shielded Metal Arc Welding, Plumbing, Automotive Servicing and Electrical Installation and Maintenance, which are in-demand jobs in the country and abroad. Apart from challenging themselves by taking on these tasks, these women are also trained to aim for a better finanacial future for their families. To date, this partnership has churned out 37 graduates of highly skilled Filipinas, and aims to reach a total of 60 graduates by end of 2017.

Recognizing that chores can be done by anyone, Ariel also rolled out the #JuanWash campaign which is targeted towards men. Its goal is straightforward and goes right into the heart of the matter – to get men to do their share of laundry duties, one wash at a time. For Ariel men, this goes beyond simply doing the laundry, as it also shows their support to their wives, and moulds their children into understanding the equal role of men and women in doing the household chores.

Launched online last September 1, 2017, the #JuanWash campaign not only celebrated those men who have done their part of laundry duties, but also dedicated Fridays as #JuanWash days. Considering that most Filipino households do their laundry twice a week, getting men to do the laundry once a week means doing their equal share of the load. By getting men to do the laundry at least once a week, Ariel hopes to transform them into laundry experts with the help from Ariel Power Gel that’s especially formulated for better stain removal with just one wash.

In partnership with Eat Bulaga, Ariel also scoured through many different barangays in Metro Manila to find Juan Washers every Friday. This put the spotlight on individual Juan Washers, and showcased how valuable their role is in further pushing gender equality in the family and in the community. In so doing, Ariel Men all over the Philippines were able to collect 10,000 laundry hours in just one month, which represents the number of hours freed up for the women in their lives

To celebrate this feat, Ariel handed over the 10,000 laundry hours to the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), represented by their Chief of Corporate Affairs and Information Resource Management Division, Ms. Honey Castro, as a symbolic gift to women, while emphasizing Ariel’s support for gender equality in the household.

OTHER INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS

In Vietnam, Ariel partnered with the Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU) and Saigon Coop, a local supermarket chain to support female initiatives. For this leg, the Rise Women campaign provided a grant to winning women awardees in various fields to acknowledge their contributions. Many outstanding women from diverse sectors such as agriculture, scientific, and industrial were lauded.

Ariel India, P&G, and BBDO Worldwide showed how fathers and husbands can take small steps, such as doing laundry, to create more equal homes through the #ShareTheLoad campaign, which won a ‪Glass Lion award at the 2015 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. While the TV commercial for this has gone viral, the real win is the way the campaign’s message is geared towards changing stereotypes and showing the value of supporting gender equality. All the aforementioned campaigns are hinged on P&G’s #WeSeeEqual campaign that seek to push the boundaries on gender equality and women empowerment.‬‬‬‬