Filipino history has a pantheon of great Filipina leaders, such as Gabriela Silang and Melchora Aquino. In addition to these historical heroes, there are many modern Filipino women that have succeeded spectacularly in their respective fields, broken the glass ceiling, and strived to give back to their communities.
These Filipinas deserve to have their stories documented at length, so that other women can gain inspiration from not only what they achieved, but how they overcame the many obstacles that once stood in their way. Such was the spirit behind the new book, Fearless Filipinas: 12 Women Who Dared to Be Different.
The book opens with a foreword from Vice President Leni Robredo, who noted that the book can be a catalyst for readers.
“While all of the women featured here hail from different fields, they are all united in their demonstration of ‘fearlessness’ in the face of adversity, prejudice, or even the status quo. Celebrating their lives—and indeed, their individual moments of fearlessness—should serve as a rallying cry to all women: We are all capable of the courage it takes to achieve unprecedented greatness,” wrote VP Robredo.
The women featured in Fearless Filipinas indeed span a broad range of fields, including entertainment, sports, academe, arts, science, and business. Kim Lato and Merlee Jayme were chosen as representatives for business because of their great achievements. Lato of course founded gadgets store Kimstore while still at college student at De La Salle University Manila, and Jayme is known as one of the nation’s foremost leaders in advertising and creativity, serving as “chairmom” and chief creative officer of Dentsu Jayme Syfu.
Perhaps much more importantly, both have been incredible role models for other women business leaders.
“If Silicon Valley has its garage, the Philippines has its McDonalds. That’s where Kim effectively founded Kimstore, back as a young undergraduate at DLSU. She pioneered e-commerce in the country and continues to reinvent the organization through innovation at every turn, providing a model for other Filipinas who also want to succeed in the new digital economy,” said Monica Padillo, co-author of the book published by Bookshelf PH, which specializes in titles in business, education, and other genres.
Mica Magsanoc, the managing editor and co-author of the book, echoed similar sentiments about Jayme.
“One of the common themes in Jayme’s story is her pursuit of creative excellence in all her work. What is notable about her is not only how she demanded this of herself, but in others around her as well. Time and again, she has operationalized a culture where great creatives flourish and people are inspired to give their best work,” Magsanoc.
The other women featured in Fearless Filipinas include:
- Angel Locsin, the prominent TV and film actress and philanthropist;
- Elda Rotor, the Vice President and Publisher of Penguin Classics who brought Filipino authors like Nick Joaquin to a global audience;
- Kaizen Dela Serna, a Southeast Asian Games gold medalist in the burgeoning sport of obstacle course racing (OCR);
- Erika Legara, a physicist who founded the Asian Institute of Management’s Master of Science in Data Science program;
- Stella Abrera, the first Filipina American Principal Dancer of the American Ballet Theatre, playing roles such as Juliet, Giselle, and Princess Aurora
- Jessica Cox, a motivational speaker and the world’s first licensed armless pilot and blackbelt in the American Taekwondo Association;
- Jessie Sincioco, the President of The Manna Cuisine Corporation and the chef who served Pope Francis on his visit to the Philippines in 2015
- Dzi Gervacio, co-founder of the Beach Volleyball Republic (BVR) and a SEA Games beach volleyball bronze medalist;
- Asia Jackson, a Filipina American actress in Hollywood who started the #MagandangMorenx movement to combat colorism in the Filipino community;
- Dr. Reina Reyes, the Princeton PhD who confirmed Einstein’s theory of relativity;
Fearless Filipinas was written by Monica Padillo, Pancho Dizon, and Mica Magsanoc; edited by Kyle Nate; and illustrated by Chloe Gaw.
Fearless Filipinas is slated for the release at the end of March, and is available for pre-order here: https://bookshelf.com.ph/pages/fearless-filipinas.
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