Around five million women have quit their jobs, partly because of unfavourable job locations.

PARTICIPANTS in the 2019 Google “Devfest” came out of the breakout sessions with deeper understanding on work-related inclusivity. DAVID JOHN CUBANGBANG @tribunephl_dvd

Diversity has always been a contentious topic in the field of technology. Panel discussions, blog posts and even conferences have been dedicated to the lack of representation in the tech industry.

Addressing the subject, Google Developer Group (GDG) Philippines hosted what it termed as “DevFest” to go beyond innovation by putting in focus the underrepresented groups in the sector, including women.

GDG Philippines invited speakers from various companies to share how to address the problem on lack of diversity and how to promote inclusivity in the worksplace.

One of the highlights was trained on Connected Women Connected Women (CW), an online platform which provides female workers with job opportunities but with the freedom of choosing their own time and workspace.

CW chief executive officer and founder Gina Romero said the website is her answer to the huge number of unemployed women as it enables them to search for remote work with flexible working schedules.

Around five million women have quit their jobs because of various factors, including the lack of favorable locations for jobs being considered, family commitment and the lack of work opportunities for the so-called “fairer sex.”

“The flexibility and productivity of working anywhere is very empowering for women,” Romero said, adding that the community started in April 2018 with 5,000 members now has 60,000 users in less than two years.

Romero said CW was an idea spurred by her discussions with her household worker in Singapore. The nanny recounted how she had to leave her family in the Philippines to earn a living.

She then decided to go back to the Philippines to help those who were in the same boat as her employee.

CW is now working with a business process outsourcing company in the Philippines to help Filipinas connect with companies. This is just the first step though, according to Romero, who plans on expanding her network for other minority groups such as the elderly.

Aside from the talks, GDG Philippines held a panel discussion as part of its breakout sessions to train the spotlight on empowering and underrepresented groups.

They also staged a workshop called #IamRemarkable during which minorities celebrated the milestones in their careers.

DevFest is an annual event which gathers developers, tech enthusiasts, entrepreneurs and technology experts in one event where they can share new knowledge and socialize for opportunities to collaborate.