Filipinas have absolutely played a stellar role in the growth of the country’s property sector. The BusinessMirror interviewed three of the movers and shakers who have made their mark in the sector.
Pioneering effort
After pioneering efforts to enter the low-cost housing market and introducing solar power to the mass housing market, Imperial Homes Corp. (IHC) President and CEO Emma Imperial recently achieved another milestone when the International Finance Corp. (IFC) of the World Bank (WB) awarded her company as the world’s first recipient of the Building Resilience Index (BRI) certification for affordable housing. Furthermore, the WB and IFC cited IHC as a model for Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE) green building certification.
Imperial is very happy that the Philippine property sector, which was previously dominated by men, is now populated with Filipinas who are introducing numerous innovations to the Philippine property sector, creating a sustainable landscape for future generations. “The Filipinas’ creative ideas rooted in their gentle and motherly love create efficient and potent solutions to address significant concerns the property sector and society face today,” Imperial said.
“My company, Imperial Homes Corporation, is pioneering innovative developments by incorporating sustainable and resilient technologies like Solar and Connovate. Our main goal is to mitigate climate change, alleviate poverty and reduce housing backlogs while uplifting the Filipinos’ housing and living standards. We innovated the houses for low income and mid cost to be world class sustainable resilient homes which are certified by IFC, EDGE and BRI,” she explained.
Empowering is her business
Lobien Realty Group CEO Sheila Lobien says women tend to thrive in real-estate brokerage because they have patience and understanding, tend to be more detail-oriented to ensure all angles are covered and more sensitive when dealing with clients—which she thinks is innate for women.
Lobien, the current chairperson of the Women in Business Committee of the European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (ECCP), walks the talk on empowering women as the founding director of the Global Woman Club Philippines, which aims to unite professional women around the world, regardless of their age, culture, or race and to encourage them to stand in their power, invest in themselves and grow their skills and abilities by learning and leadership development. “As an advocate for women empowerment, this topic is something I am truly passionate about,” Lobien said.
Lobien stressed women have always been involved in the real-estate industry since the very beginning, performing administrative tasks or clerical works back in the office, helping behind the scenes in building the foundation of the Philippine real-estate that continues to amaze Filipinos in the 21st century.
She adds women are attracted to work in real estate brokerage because of convenience, a lucrative endeavor and builds connections through socials, friendships and business meetings.
“So, the opportunities or impact of real-estate brokerage for women is very positive as much as women being able to positively impact the real-estate industry through their participation,” she said.
Breaking the stereotype
As its chairman and president of logistics firm Airspeed, Rosemarie Rafael’s story continues to inspire Filipinas because she broke the stereotypes in a male dominated corporate world in the 1980s. She recalled that she did not go head-to-head with men. “The men in the industry when I started, underestimated women as it is a norm that men dominate this industry and women are just followers. One has to work doubly hard to be able to prove that they can do it. The ultimate acceptance I received was when I was elected as the first woman president of the Air Cargo Forwarders Association in the 90s,” Rafael told the BusinessMirror.
Being a true advocate of women, 66 percent of Airspeed’s senior management team are females.
Rafael has come a long way since then. Just recently, she was chosen as the new President of the Women’s Business Council Philippines Inc. (WomenBizPH). Serving as the platform to discuss women’s issues in business and possible government policies and solutions, WomenBizPH is the lead private sector partner of the government, particularly the Department of Trade and Industry and the Philippine Commission on Women, and represents the Philippines in Apec and Asean events.
Rafael is proud of the role of women of Airspeed in elevating the company to its current stature. “The women of Airspeed are trustworthy, dependable, devoted, relentless and nurturing and that they have a good combination of toughness to withstand the challenges, and a heart to serve our stakeholders.”