SM’s commitment to gender equality and an inclusive workforce has been at the forefront of its sustainability agenda guided by its Equal Opportunity Policy.
The SM group has women leaders across its businesses including Lizanne Uychaco, its first diversity officer. “We recognize the value of celebrating and empowering women in the workforce as we continuously aspire for gender balance while providing opportunities for all,” said Uychaco.
The company’s thrust on diversity, equity, and inclusion has helped promote a work culture grounded in meritocracy.
SM Hotels and Conventions Corp. (SMHCC) Executive Vice President Peggy Angeles believes that the company’s focus on diversity and equal opportunity has always been a priority as it continues to champion women.
“Part of SMHCC’s Seven Green Goals focuses on Diversity and Equal Opportunity. As such, we provide equal opportunity for females even in male-dominated departments such as Engineering, IT, and Culinary. In addition, 58% of the company’s executives are females,” Angeles said.
Already an expert in hospitality, Angeles joined SMHCC in July 2014 sharing “I am now on my 10th year with the group. No regrets at all.”
According to Angeles, the values that have anchored her in her career in hospitality are the same values that SMHCC has including commitment, respect, integrity, sincerity, professionalism, and prudence.
These values consistently align with the programs and initiatives SMCC has been working on.
“When it comes to specific programs, SMHCC engages with diverse communities through its various sustainability efforts including Tela Tales. This is a recycling program wherein condemned linens are made into fashionable and sustainable bags to help women in the community make a profit by teaching them new skills,” she said.
Tela Tales is a recently launched initiative of the sustainability group of SMHCC.
“Empowering people is a given”
This Women’s Month, Angeles believes that “empowering people is a given whether there is a celebration or not. Whether they are women or men – all are empowered to take responsibility in their respective areas. Everyone is encouraged to speak up, participate in discussions, put their ideas forward, be heard, and be counted.”
With experience spanning four continents and 20 countries, Angeles shared how her “experience in dealing with several cultures has given me the ability to be able to understand and adapt to different work environments, different people, and personalities and deal with various challenges. Although all the hotels and convention centers of SM are in one country, every province or city would also have its idiosyncrasies. My cultural diversity exposure has certainly given me the edge and has made leading SM Hotels and Conventions Corp a much easier job.”
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