In celebration of this year’s International Women’s Month and in keeping with the theme “Break the Bias,” digital outsource company TaskUs held an online forum to discuss the barriers Filipinas in the workforce face and how organizations can support their personal and professional needs.
“I believe that the first step towards a gender-equal world is recognizing that bias remains to exist even today,” said Victoria Alcachupas, TaskUs division vice president of integrated marketing. “TaskUs is committed to being a part of the solution. Since the beginning, we have inculcated a culture of inclusivity and belongingness to our people. We focus on talent and skills, and not on gender identity or sexual orientation, race, background, religion, or any other societal segmentations. We believe that the more diverse the workforce is, the better.”
Together with Alcachupas, Vina Paglicawan, (director of wellness & resiliency) and Regina Aguila, (vice president of people) also shared their thoughts at the forum.
The Bias on Wellness Insufficiency and Gender Gap
According to Paglicawan, work-life balance has become more important for workers, especially women. “The barriers that women are facing today imply that employers need to start looking at employee support through a different lens and consider the things that also matter: wellness and mental health.”
Working conditions have certainly changed over the past two years, especially for female workers. A LinkedIn report that surveyed women in Asia, including the Philippines, showed that mothers have difficulty balancing their roles as professionals and mothers. Compounded by the intensified challenges (McKinsey) brought by the pandemic, female professionals have become more burnt out than the previous year, according to management consulting firm Gallup.
On top of the daily responsibilities that they do at home, Aguila said that women still experience barriers when moving up the corporate ladder due to the lack of support for women’s personal and professional development. These barriers include lack of flexible work arrangements, unequal pay, unequal access to career-making roles as men, and vulnerability to sexual harassment by predatory male co-workers, among others.
“In today’s modern age, in what we consider a progressive time for different gender sectors, 30 percent is still considered the tipping point for women to affect decision-making processes,” said Aguila. “This underrepresentation could be a result of the barriers that women face in the workplace. What employers need to do is to take more proactive steps in supporting the well-being and career development of their employees.”
Breaking the Biases by Fostering a People-First Culture
To address the common barriers that affect the wellness of Filipinas not only in the workplace but also at home, TaskUs’ dedicated Wellness & Resiliency team ensures that employees have the right tools and support to improve any feelings of stress, anxiety, or burnout.
“Our in-house life coaching program provides 24/7 access to a life coach or, in more serious cases, a psychologist or a psychiatrist for employees going through a hard time,” said Paglicawan. “The program contributed to the 94% employee wellness satisfaction score that TaskUs recorded last year in Q4.”
On Diversity & Inclusion, the company also provides equal conditions and benefits for all employees across all job levels. TaskUs has several Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) like Women@TaskUs for female teammates and Unicorns@TaskUs for the LGBTQIA+ community, that serve as the voice for the groups they represent and provide counsel and recommendations in policy-making and benefits.
Other benefits that TaskUs in the Philippines offers to empower its female employees include:
- 15 days additional paid maternity leaves, on top of other government-mandated benefits;
- The NextGen Scholarship Program that rewards high-performing employees with the opportunity to apply for company-paid scholarships for their children or children under their legal care;
- The Professional Development Reimbursement program that can be applied to finance participation in conferences, certifications, training, and the like;
- The Tuition Reimbursement program which reimburses a portion of costs incurred while furthering a teammate’s education towards an Associate, Bachelor, Masteral, or Doctoral degree from accredited colleges, universities, or certificate programs.
“We have made it our goal this year to improve the representation of women in our company, starting with recruitment,” said Aguila. “Through these programs, we hope our employees are empowered to rise through the ranks while fulfilling their personal goals.”
TaskUs is a provider of outsourced digital services and next-generation customer experience to innovative and disruptive technology companies. Leveraging a cloud-based infrastructure, it serves clients in the fastest-growing sectors, including social media, e-commerce, gaming, streaming media, food delivery, ride-sharing, HiTech, FinTech, and HealthTech. As of December 31, 2021, TaskUs had approximately 40,100 employees across twenty-three locations in 10 countries, including the United States, the Philippines, and India.
Because of its relentless efforts especially in the areas of Diversity & Inclusion and Wellness & Resiliency, TaskUs has consistently received awards and recognition from different industry organizations such as the Glassdoor 2019 Best Places to Work and Comparably’s Best Company Culture, Best Company for Women, and Best Company for Diversity in 2021, among others.
For more information about TaskUsPhilippines, visit www.taskus.com.