We Did Women's Month Our Way—And We'd Do It Again

Women's Month started with unsolicited proof of why it still matters.

Specifically: a congressman decided the best way to mark the occasion was to make lewd comments about Anne Curtis online. The audacity was so punctual it almost felt like a gift. We didn't need the reminder, but we took it anyway. So: noted, and we got to work.

To Each Her Own wasn't just a theme we landed on for our Women of Influence campaign because it looked good on a mood board (it did, though). It was a genuine belief: that there is no single correct way to be a woman. There are different ways to lead, to take up space, or to decide what success looks like—despite what certain comment sections might suggest.

Some women are very loud about all of it. Some prefer to be low-key. Some are still figuring it out in real time and doing it anyway. All of it counts.

I'll speak for myself: I never really followed a specific map. I shifted courses, moved countries, moved back. A pandemic, a lot of floating, a lot of unanswered questions. But I kept at it—not always gracefully (tears were shed, not always confidently (doubts were had), but consistently.

I just kept going for things I wanted to while letting that eldest-daughter-pressure fuel my ambition. And somehow, that's exactly what got me here. Who knew. (Apparently not me, LOL.)

But I think that's the secret. The path that looks like a "happy accident" usually isn't an accident at all. You just live it your way before you have the 20/20 vision of hindsight. And this month, that was clearer than ever with out honorees.

Bela Padilla, Hannah Pangilinan, Syd Hartha, Dr. Rica Cruz, Cha Ocampo, Rachelle Bravo, Jessica de Mesa-Lim, and Steph Naval come from different fields, different backgrounds, different everything. They're essentially a Venn diagram of excellence with purpose, tbh.

Every single one of them is speaking up on issues that matter, in rooms that weren't always built for them. And now, they're opening doors for other women.

The Women of Influence Recognition Dinner was something else entirely. Full disclosure: I had two drinks before I stepped onstage. (This was a personal decision and I stand by it!) But the buzz vanished once I held the mic.

There's something about being surrounded by women who have steadily, sometimes thanklessly built something real that it sobers you up quick. You stop performing the lines. And that night, I meant what I said: we don't get to decide what success looks like for someone else.

And when each of us owns who we are and lives it out loud, we all get to be (and celebrate!) ourselves together.

We may have started Women's Month on the wrong, misogynistic foot. But we're ending it standing—for each other, for the women we celebrated, and for the stories we told.

Because it's never "just a comment" or "just a joke." And it's definitely not "just a month." It's everyday work, done every woman's own way, that makes life that much better for the next Filipina.