Rhoda Castro Caliwara (F)
President and Chief Executive Officer
My journey to where I am now is laced with experiences and trials that molded me, as a person, as a professional, and as a businesswoman in a predominantly male-dominated industry. It started with the struggles of making it in the big city while coming from the countryside that developed into the challenges of competing for career growth with equally capable men who are educated in bigger and more prominent universities. These trials all contributed to my staunch longing to highlight women's capabilities in most of my endeavors – especially in the world of business, labor, and employment. As a career woman and a businessperson, I rose from the ground up. It was not easy, but I reached the highs of my profession by simply being who I am, a proud woman. Joining organizations related to my field of endeavor has motivated me, even more, to use these platforms and pursue a committed drive to share and spread the advocacy of empowering women in business, if not by example, then by inspiration. It is my commitment to support WEP programs, and continue to host a venue where the encapsulated messages and lessons of gender equality and women empowerment in business, labor, and employment, are freely shared.