FWD Philippines Celebrates First Graduates of Women's Leadership Program

• FWD Philippines marks first batch of women leaders completing the FWD LIFE program  
• The program is for Forging Women's Development in Leadership, Innovation, and Future Excellence 
• Seeks to empower and advance women as leaders in the insurance industry 

FWD Life Insurance (FWD Philippines) recently hit a milestone with the commemoration of the graduation of the initial batch of women leaders of its trailblazing ‘FWD LIFE’ program — “Forging Women's Development in Leadership, Innovation, and Future Excellence”. 

This pioneering program is the very first in the Philippines to enable and grow women leaders in insurance. It is specifically crafted to enable the participants to unleash their natural leadership styles, build their influence, and drive innovation in their organizations. 

Rolling out during a period when gender diversity in the leadership is increasingly being recognized internationally, the program comes at a time when recent studies by the Philippine Business Coalition for Women Empowerment (PBCWE) were released showing that 40 percent of executive leadership positions in listed companies are occupied by women. The same study further recorded improvement in the deployment of women to operational roles — a prime gateway to executive leadership. 

Vita Guillen, FWD Philippines Chief People and Culture Officer, highlighted the importance of enabling women leaders: Being the next-gen insurer, FWD advocates breaking down barriers and opening doors for everyone. This initiative reaffirms the need for women to be seated in leadership tables — not just for equity, but for their valuable diversity of thought and actual contributions." We hope that our women leaders will excel and create a more inclusive future for the insurance profession." 

Conceived in collaboration with the world-famous “Asian Institute of Management (AIM”, the program had a progressive curriculum with focus on high-level leadership skills, strategic networking, and building a balanced, purpose-driven leadership style. 

Marian Lleander, AIM Program Director, was pleased with the partnership: "This is a first for AIM — customizing a leadership program to one company." FWD's commitment to creating their women leaders is commendable, and we hope this initiative will be an inspiration to other companies."