We extended the overflowing love from February into March as we celebrated International Women’s Month here at HGS OSS. Our teams have commemorated this special month with heartfelt gestures, uplifting and empowering every woman across all sites. Our teams curated special activities for everyone to enjoy, fostering a sense of unity and celebration among us all!
Women Play a Big Role in Our Culture
In the Philippines, women have played a key role in building and shaping the communities that we exist in today. In earlier parts of our history, women spiritual leaders called Babaylans existed in various indigenous communities and held positions of leadership. They provide wisdom and guidance to their tribes to prosper. With time, women such as Melchora Aquino and Gabriela Silang have become iconic women leaders who actively participated in the liberation of the Philippines.
It is through these inspiring women that the Filipinos continue to push forward in shaping a better future for the country. From history’s leaders, we grew into modern heroes in our workplace who motivate team members. Thus, our Vice President of Operations Paul Butalid shares, “It’s a real pleasure to gather in celebration of National Women’s Month. Where we not only recognize the remarkable women amongst our team but as well as women everywhere, who create inspiring and inclusive spaces for everyone.”
Women leaders inspire countless people around the world. Here at HGS OSS, we have a fair share of amazing women leaders who inspire their team members every day. That’s why for this March, we honor the outstanding women who are making a difference with their endless dedication to their work through this month’s theme “Her Story, Her Journey.” In this theme, we honor the women who made a name for themselves and gave significant contributions to their team.
Extraordinary Women in our Working Spaces
As part of this theme, team members celebrate the women in their team by nominating them for the Woman Extraordinaire award. The nominations and outpours of praise spoke volumes about the impact that these folks had on their team. It was incredible to hear their stories of leadership and empowerment firsthand through their teammates. Let us put our hands together for these extraordinary women!
These women are the embodiment of HGS OSS’ dedication to creating inclusive spaces for everyone to excel. These leaders were nominated because of the wonderful testimonies of their peers who were inspired to step up their careers in the company. May you inspire more aspiring team members in the future!
Celebrating Women at HGS OSS!
Our teams across HGS OSS sites cooked up unique huddle games for this March!
Our teams at The Curve were challenged with an engaging game of “Nail Polish Contest.” This game required two teams with 5 members, with one member from each team being the designated painter of the bunch. They must paint their member’s nails perfectly within the time limit. The hosts took it up a notch and had the boys battle it out with the girls, but ultimately, the girls won this contest.
Meanwhile, our teams from Twenty-Four Seven had a cool “Numbers Game.” Here, two teams with 5 members had specific numbers attached to them, then the hosts would project on the screen a set of numbers and the team members had to imitate the numbers on the screen by rearranging themselves in the correct order. It was an exhilarating game and teams were head-to-head in taking points but eventually, one team came up on top!
Moving to our teams at Twenty-Five Seven, they have prepared a few unique games such as the “What’s in my Purse?” game, a nice spin to the classic “Bring Me” game where the hosts ask for the audiences to bring items that can be found inside a woman’s purse! Another game introduced in their huddle is the “Who is that Girl?” game where 5 pairs are called out to the stage. One of the pairs has to describe the woman that they randomly picked in the bowl of well-known women from pop culture and history, while the other tries their best to guess!
And last but not least, our work-from-home teams prepared a game called “Guess the Movie” where team members had to guess movies with strong women characters! They also played a “Guess the Woman” game where the hosts showed silhouettes of famous women, alongside their achievements for the audience to buzz in and guess as quickly as they could. Talk about a buzzer-beater!
Our Commemoration Goes Beyond
HGS OSS ends this month by giving back to the community. In partnership with Little Sisters of the Abandoned Elderly, our volunteers shared a wonderful afternoon with the elderly women in our community. Our volunteers had a lovely time sitting down with these ladies as they talked about moments in their lives and the struggles that they faced back in their time. Some of these lolas (grandmothers in Tagalog) shared stories about motherhood and taking care of their children and grandchildren. Others shared their personal achievements that they have, telling stories of their adventures and the challenges that set them back. Each of them has a different story to tell, and our volunteers learned a lot from them.
Our volunteers prepared an energetic game of Bingo! This simple game was a nice break from the heartfelt stories as our darling “lolas” excitedly played alongside our host. Besides the games and the heartwarming conversations, we also donated essentials and warm meals for everyone – a small thank you for their contribution in making the community a better place.
The afternoon that we spent with our lolas will be cherished for a long time. Their wisdom will always have a place in this modern world, and our volunteers are sure to take their advice to heart. Their experiences inspire us to always be mindful of our decisions in life, but also remember to have fun on the journey ahead!
Marching into April!
That covers our events for this March! We hope that everyone had a wonderful time celebrating National Women’s Month with HGS OSS. We hope that our Woman Extraordinaire awardees inspire a new generation of outstanding women leaders in the coming years!
If you can smell the comforting scents of parchment paper and coffee, well that’s because we are brewing up our upcoming events for April! What’s in store, you ask? Let’s just say it’s bound to get bookish.
Citations
Center for Babaylan Studies. “What Is a Babaylan?” Babaylan Studies, www.centerforbabaylanstudies.org/history.
Foundation for Media Alternatives. “This Day in #Herstory: Courageous and Strong Women of the Katipunan.” Foundation for Media Alternatives, 19 July 2019, fma.ph/day-herstory-courageous-strong-women-katipunan.
