March is ending. The banners will soon come down. The purple outfits will return to regular rotation. The hashtags will slow. The photo albums will be archived.
Across both government offices and private establishments, Women’s Month has just been celebrated — with marches, forums, wellness fairs, bazaars, competitions, inspirational talks, and creative showcases.
Now that the month is closing, I find myself asking a quieter question: What, if anything, changed? May nabago ba nga ba?
I ask these questions not in frustration, but in reflection. After more than three decades in the public sector and two decades of gender equality advocacy work — and watching how both public and private organizations commemorate this month — I have learned to look beyond attendance numbers and photo documentation.
I believe in Women’s Month. I believe in what it represents. This is precisely why I believe we must examine how we carry it out.
Celebration Is Not the Problem
Let me say this clearly: celebration is not the problem. Joy is not the problem. Wellness is not the problem. Creative expression is not the problem. Women deserve joy. Employees deserve engagement. Organizers deserve credit for the work it takes to mobilize people and make programs meaningful.
The real tension lies elsewhere. The risk begins when celebration slowly substitutes for transformation, when Women’s Month becomes primarily a calendar of activities, a well-branded theme, a competition with prizes, or a compliance report with photos attached.
Gender equality is not seasonal. It is structural. And structures are not moved by applause alone.
The Balancing Act Organizers Face
Fun draws participation. Technical forums often do not. This is real. This deserves empathy.
But here is where we must be careful: Hindi dapat napapawi o nawawala o nababawasan ang lalim ng adhikain dahil lamang gusto nating mas masaya ang programa.
The depth of the advocacy must not fade simply because we want the program to feel lighter. Fun is not the enemy. But fun must not dilute meaning. When enjoyment becomes the headline and equality becomes the footnote, something important is lost.
When Advocacy Becomes Performance
In both the public and private sectors, advocacy is increasingly designed to be engaging — sometimes even competitive. There are talent segments, production numbers, branded campaigns, and question-and-answer showcases.
There is understandable logic behind this - creative formats energize participation. However, we must guard against one subtle shift: when performance begins to overshadow policy.
A powerful speech about empowerment does not automatically translate into:
- Equitable promotion pathways,
- Fair assignment of high-impact projects,
- Representation in executive committees or boards,
- Bias-free evaluation systems.
Charisma is not structural reform and yet structural reform is where inequality quietly persists.
The Subtle Dilution
Annual observances can, over time, become ritual. Each year we refine logistics, we improve design, and the program becomes smoother. But do we measure structural change with the same rigor?
In private companies:
- How many women lead revenue-generating divisions?
- How many sit in decision-making committees?
In public institutions:
- Who occupies third-level and executive/managerial posts?
- Who is groomed for succession?
- Who receives strategic exposure?
Representation must move beyond aspiration to measurable targets. Beyond representation, assignment matters. Who gets stretch roles? Who carries operational load versus strategic visibility? Who is present in crisis rooms? Equality lives in patterns, not in programs.
Wellness Is Not the Same as Equality
Health forums and wellness activities are compassionate and necessary. Mental health, preventive care, work-life integration — these matter deeply. We must, however, distinguish between helping women cope and reforming systems so coping is not the constant requirement.
Supporting resilience is kindness. Removing inequity is justice. If Women’s Month focuses primarily on strengthening endurance without examining structural barriers, then we may unintentionally reinforce the expectation that women simply manage better — adjust better — absorb more. True equality redesigns conditions.
The Questions We Should Ask at the End of March
As this month closes, perhaps every organization — public or private — should ask disciplined questions: What structural shift will we be able to report next March? Not, “How successful were our events?” But, “What measurable gap narrowed?” or “What policy improved?” or “What opportunity was deliberately redistributed?” or “What bias did we interrupt?”
Without satisfactorily answering these questions, advocacy risks becoming ritual, and one without reform slowly loses its moral force.
After the Purple Fades
Purple is powerful symbolism. It signals solidarity. It signals visibility. But such symbolism must lead somewhere.
When the banners are removed and normal operations resume, equality either advances quietly — in budget meetings, promotion deliberations, succession planning, training and scholarship opportunity reviews — or it stalls quietly.
Women’s Month should not exhaust our advocacy energy. It should concentrate it. If next March we can point to even one structural reform that happened because we commemorated this month — one measurable improvement, one intentional change — then celebration has served its purpose. If not, then perhaps we must be brave enough to redesign how we celebrate.
The goal is not to make Women’s Month heavier. The goal is to make it truer because when the purple fades, the work remains and deserves depth.
- Director Noreen
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