Yaring Pinay (Investing in Women)

The Yaring Pinay Program implemented by Edukasyon.ph is a program designed to promote women and men’s participation in non-traditional technical and vocational education and employment (tech-voc) by actively breaking down gender stereotypes. The program operates through three main pillars: a nationwide communications campaign, capacity-building, and research.

The communications campaign has been executed in three phases: "Talk Voc" (raising awareness on stereotypes), "Raise Her Voc" (celebrating women tech-voc learners), and "Walk the Voc" (equipping youth with actionable steps). The campaign saw substantial numbers, including over 35 million in reach, 140 million impressions, and 4 million in engagement. The campaign prominently features real-life success stories and interviews with Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) trainees, graduates, and staff.

For the capacity-building part of the program, Gender Communication Toolkits were made and workshops were held for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) schools and employers, training 116 participants from 35 schools and 13 companies in six sessions. The toolkits were launched in March 2021 with participation from over 195 attendees, including staff from TESDA. 

The program is supported by a robust Monitoring & Evaluation framework, which includes conducting key informant interviews and Focus Group Discussions to capture changes in perceptions and norms among youth and program stakeholders.

Ultimately, the project showed the high interest of Filipino women who wish to undergo tech-voc training but are discouraged to do so simply because of gender stereotypes. This calls for a two-pronged approach where the community (TESDA, tech-voc schools, students) must be aligned with the industry (tech-voc employers) in making sure that tech-voc welcomes everyone equally.