The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Central Office held its kick-off program celebrating the month of March as National Women's Month - enacted through Presidential Proclamation 227, series of 1988.
Spearheading the DPWH Central Office campaign to advance gender equality and empowerment are exemplary women leaders namely Undersecretaries Maria Catalina E. Cabral and Ardeliza R. Medenilla; Assistant Secretary Marichu A. Palafox; and Directors Elizabeth Pilorin, Medmier Malig, Genevieve Cuaresma, Ma. Victoria Gregorio, Ma. Nieva Dela Paz, and Gliricidia Tumaliuan-Ali.
The celebration theme “We Make Change Work for Women” highlights the empowerment of women as active contributors and claim holders of development.
“We” stands for women empowerment, while the acronym of the verse “Make change work” stands for Magna Carta for Women (MCW) - a comprehensive women’s human rights law that seeks to eliminate discrimination by recognizing, protecting, fulfilling and promoting the rights of Filipino women, especially those in the marginalized sector.
The word “change” in the five-year theme (2017-2022) also stands for Compassionate and Harmonized Actions and Networks for Gender Equality.