There has been an increase in opportunities for women in the Philippine gaming industry as the sector continues to grow, especially with a greater number of international companies investing in the country.

The comments were made by panellists during an International Women’s Day (IWD) event (pictured), hosted on Friday by Aristocrat Gaming in the Philippine capital, Manila. It was the first such gathering in Asia organised by the gaming technology supplier.

As international investment expands, “so does the number of opportunities for women working in the industry,” observed Cheryl Tiglao (pictured, centre), director of slot at Hann Casino Resort at Clark, a property promoted by Hann Resorts.

“There should be equal opportunities for men and women along the way, with more trust in women’s capabilities,” added Ms Tiglao.

Katrina Mae De Jesus (pictured, left), head of business development and resort marketing at Universal Hotels and Resorts Inc, promoter of NUSTAR Resort and Casino in Cebu, agreed that women are now having more career advancement opportunities in the sector, in particular given the “development of the iGaming segment in the country”.

“It’s something new and there are more opportunities there for women,” including in leadership and technical positions, she added.

“So, it’s good to see that there are now technical positions – usually led by men – that are now open to women,” she added. “A work environment should be gender agnostic … you just need to continue to create opportunities for people to shine.”

Vina Claudette Oca (pictured, right) reminded the audience that the Philippines was well placed in global rankings of gender equality. She is assistant vice president for gaming licensing and development at the country’s industry regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor).

The Philippines was ranked 16th in “The Global Gender Gap Index 2023 rankings” compiled by the World Economic Forum. It is an annual index that aims to benchmark the current state and evolution of gender parity across the globe.

Nonetheless, noted Ms Oca, the pace of progress made on gender equality in the Philippines “has been quite slow and minimal over the years”.

“But we can always start it in our own community, offices and departments, overcoming these challenges, one by one,” she added.

Exceeding targets

The three panellists agreed that more events to promote gender parity should be “championed”, in order to empower women, not only in the gaming industry, but elsewhere.

“This kind of event or programme helps raise awareness about this topic, which support progress,” stated Ms Tiglao.

Aristocrat Gaming’s session aimed to “celebrate the achievements of women in gaming” and foster the discussion “on how organisations can benefit from investing in diversity, equity, and inclusion”.

Giving a presentation during the event, Daniela Vivaldo-Barbara, senior communications manager for Asia Pacific at Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty, said that as a global organisation, the company needs to ensure that it “meets the expectations of the whole workforce”.

“In order to do that, we currently narrowed it down to three key areas: increasing the representation of women; driving an inclusive culture; and extending our diversity focus beyond gender,” she stated.

Ms Vivaldo-Barbara added: “For each of these focus areas, we have strategic objectives, actions and initiatives that are designed to help us accelerate progress in these areas.”

In particular, the gaming supplier has in place a 12-month career development programme – called ‘Ready to Rise’ – “for Aristocrat women and their allies”, allowing participants to gain access to career-enhancing learning and development opportunities.

Additionally, Aristocrat is committed to the “40:40 Vision” initiative of HESTA, an Australian industry superannuation fund, which calls on all ASX 300 companies to set gender composition targets for their executive leadership teams.

“In 2023, we have not only met, but we have exceeded that target,” noted Ms Vivaldo-Barbara.