Fairer promotion and recruitment practices are helping Philippine companies develop talent and advance women into leadership, with logistics provider Airspeed and service contractor Executive Genesis Services Inc. cited as examples in a new International Labour Organization (ILO) report.
The report, “Women in Business and Management: Scaling Success,” features the two companies as case studies of how workplace gender equality policies can translate into concrete outcomes, including more opportunities for women and stronger talent development.
At Executive Genesis, founder and chief executive Rhoda Castro-Caliwara said guidance from the Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines helped the company put gender equality and diversity initiatives into practice.
Women accounted for 60 percent of promotions in 2024, she said, adding that the company is now helping clients develop diversity, equity and inclusion strategies suited to their operations.
“We are now helping our clients put in place DEI strategies that work for them,” Castro-Caliwara said.
Airspeed founder and chairperson Rosemarie P. Rafael, meanwhile, emphasized the business value of fair recruitment, promotion and compensation, saying companies with nurturing workplaces are better positioned to attract and retain talent.
“A company with a nurturing culture, with fair recruitment, promotion, and remuneration, will get the best talent, both women and men,” Rafael said.
“And when women know they have a future in the company, they shine.”
The two Philippine companies are featured against a global backdrop in which nearly seven in 10 enterprises surveyed reported improved business outcomes from gender equality and diversity initiatives in 2025.
However, the ILO found a gap between policy and execution. While 74.8 percent of enterprises had a gender equality or diversity policy or equivalent measure, only 26.5 percent reported implementing initiatives, down from 37.4 percent in 2018.
The report calls for stronger leadership pipelines, gender metrics, voluntary targets and wider access to roles where women remain underrepresented.
It draws on a 2025 survey of 11,957 enterprises across 99 countries, alongside earlier research.
