10 Filipino women entrepreneurs who smashed the glass ceiling

No doubt, the Philippines is one of the best countries to be a woman.

The country ranks as the ninth most gender-equal nation in the world, according to the 2014 Global Gender Gap Report published by the World Economic Forum.

The recent MasterCard Worldwide Index of Women’s Advancement also showed that the Philippines is one of only two countries in Asia Pacific with more than 50 female business and government leaders and business owners for every 100 of their male counterparts. The other is New Zealand.

In most of the region, women lag behind men in securing leadership roles despite being better educated.

“Companies with more women in leadership outperform those who do not, so the male dominance of leadership roles should be concerning,” Georgette Tan, MasterCard spokeswoman for Asia Pacific, was quoted as saying in a Reuters report.

“They are beginning to understand why integrating talented women into leadership structures is imperative for sustainable economic growth and innovation in both developed and developing markets,” Tan added.

To empower women entrepreneurs, access to ideas, opportunities, and resources is important. But just as important is the presence of role models.

In no particular order, here are 10 women entrepreneurs in the Philippines who serve as an inspiration to many others in breaking the glass ceiling. These women are leading the way in innovation and offering smart solutions in sectors, including real estate, media, ecommerce, financial tech, and tourism.

Chow Paredes, Zipmatch

Chow Paredes belongs to a family of lawyers, but she isn’t one herself. She’s a licensed real estate broker. Her passion for selling is what helped her land a job in real estate.

After years of selling condominiums for various property developers, Paredes decided to take the plunge into entrepreneurship in 2013 and co-founded ZipMatch, now a driving force in the economy. ZipMatch is one of the Philippines’ leading real estate portals that lists and reviews properties for sale and rent.

Through ZipMatch, Paredes is empowering property brokers by professionalizing the business – taking out old habits of cutting corners and doing business without a strong sense of customer service. Her team takes as much work as it can from brokers’ shoulders and provides them useful content so they can go the extra mile in servicing clients.