Ten women have now become part of the elite Inlife Sheroes Circle of Excellence, including Connected Women CEO Gina Romero who, along with her co-nominees for the Asia CEO Awards InLife Sheroes of the Year, are now tasked with becoming resource speakers and mentors in female empowerment.

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Now on its second year, the Shero of the Year award pays tribute to strong and inspired female leaders who have committed themselves to uplifting the country and its citizenry; the winner, moreover, should have succeeded in managing organizations that have boosted the nation’s global economic or social standing. 

The Asia CEO Awards was held on October 13. Myla Villanueva, who helped build the first local systems integrator as well as founded the first broadband wireless company and the first and largest mobile value added software development company, eventually won the top prize. 

For 2020, the prize also held special consideration for entrepreneurs who have been especially productive amidst the coronavirus pandemic. And, in a new world of physical distancing, the inclusivity created by Romero’s Connected Women has become even more relevant. 

Connected Women in a world of isolation

Women have come full circle these days. The pandemic has led them back to the home, to embrace the full breadth and depth of womanhood as they cater to the household while fulfilling the demands of any modern female. It’s a life allowed by technology, a life emphasized and encouraged by Romero. 

Embracing the gap closed by tech, Connected Women began as a social impact startup that offers Filipinas careers from home, matching them as executive virtual assistants to entrepreneurs, speakers, and business owners. It has since pivoted to upskilling women for the future of work by offering free training in skills such as Artificial Intelligence Data Annotation. Their latest project Elevate AIDA, launched in partnership with UN Women aims to train 1000 underskilled women for jobs in AI in 2021. It’s an enterprise, yes, but a philanthropy and a validation for women to be given a platform to succeed in their own right.

Romero grew up around mansions in the United Kingdom—she was the daughter of in-house domestic staff to British aristocracy and millionaires. Growing up, she noticed that there were very few children in Filipino communities. ‘So many of my mum’s friends sacrificed to leave their family and work abroad,” Romero said. Though Filipino resilience must be commended, Romero believed that there was a workaround to this heart-breaking trade-off. “Work should be an opportunity and not a sacrifice so we work hard on solutions to ensure that no family, no woman is left behind.” 

Romero developed Connected Women as a means to “improve the lives of women everywhere, one woman at a time, and ensuring that no woman is left behind.” It first began in Singapore in 2013, but realizing that the same business model could very well be successful in her home country, the former flight attendant and IT practitioner bravely relocated back to the Philippines in 2016. “We’ve only just begun, but I believe that if we work tirelessly to achieve a meaningful goal, then every day is a success,” she once said. 

Currently, Connected Women has a global community of 75,000 female entrepreneurs, freelancers, and professionals, with 76 chapters in the Philippines. 

According to Insular Life executive chair Nina Aguas, Romero’s exceptional contributions in the private sector, professional excellence, and personal integrity were the reasons she was recognized by the Asia CEO Awards.

With Romero’s constant championing, Connected Women has, in fact, already been a finalist of the MIT Inclusive Innovation Challenge in 2018 (Asia/USA) and the Future Works Awards (UK), as well as a champion for e-employment at the World Summit for Information Society Forum in Geneva last 2019.

Helping women

In a time of staying in and isolation, Connected Women has become integral in keeping women feeling positive and formative. 

According to a report by UN Women and the UNDP, around 435 million women and girls will be living on less than $1.90 a day by 2021—an offshoot of the pandemic. Other studies found that female-owned businesses were more likely to shut down; women were also less likely to receive financial support. 

‘This year has been a challenging year with unprecedented global disruption. People have lost loved ones, livelihood, and faced long-term economic uncertainty,” Romero said, who thanks members and partners of Connected Women. “But in the Philippines, during these times of crisis, is when we truly shine.” 

Since the new normal, the company has focused on offering technology skills training—artificial intelligence data labelling and the like—preparing more and more of its members for a more tech-driven industry.

She adds: “Despite the challenges we all face, I believe that together, we can create inclusive solutions that ensure that each and every Filipino has access to opportunities in the future of work.”

To learn more about Connected Women’s initiatives or to partner with us visit www.connectedwomen.com.