It's been a generations-long battle for women to exercise their rights to vote, to safely walk down the streets, and to follow career paths that are traditionally saturated with men. While there's still a lot to fight for in terms of receiving the same treatment and recognition when it comes to industries like sports and STEM—among other male-dominated fields—these young Filipinas are a testament to how females are gradually breaking down the gender barriers across different industries.
Alex Eala
Filipina tennis player Alex Eala was only 14 years old when she became the title holder for the Australian Open Girls' Doubles. At 15, Alex bagged her first professional singles title during the first leg of the ITF W15 Manacor. She is also the first Filipino to win a Junior Grand Slam title in 11 years.
View this post on Instagram
Marian Ledesma
Marian Ledesma from Negros Occidental National Science High School is one of the winners of DepEd’s 2020 National Science and Technology Fair. Marian took home the award for Physical Science Individual Category with her research on the EDTA-MGO's potential in removing organic pollutants from water. She is also among the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation Young Scientist Awardees in 2020.
Arabelle Santos, Jesscel Mae Libiran, and Giuliana Anupol
These three students from Juan R. Liwag Memorial High School in Gapan City observed the potential of the takip-kuhol plant in decreasing alcohol dependency. Their study won the award in DepEd's NSTF 2020 under the Life Science Team Category. Like Marian, Arabelle, Jesscel, and Giuliana are also Gokongwei Brothers Foundation Young Scientist Awardees.
Alisha "Shai" del Campo
Football is among the team sports that is primarily dominated by males, from their starting XI down to their "12th man." Shai del Campo, a 20-year-old De La Salle University footballer, is leading the charge in taking Pinay Pride to the world stage. Shai scored her first international goal for the Philippine Women's National Football Team at the 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup. At that time, she was only 18 years old. Shai was also recognized by FIFA when they published a feature of her on their official website.
Kathreen Louise Del Rosario
Women might not be the top of mind when thinking of words to associate with engineering, but this civil engineering graduate might just change minds. Kathreen accomplished what many people cannot easily do--she's topped three different engineering licensure examinations. In 2016, Kathreen ranked 8th in the Civil Engineer Licensure Examination. In 2017, Kathreen ranked 4th in the Master Plumber Licensure Examination. According to an interview she did, Kathreen also placed 5th in the Materials Engineer Accreditation Examination in September 2017.
Margielyn Didal
Margielyn Didal brought home a gold medal for the Philippines in the 2018 Asian Games when she won the women's street skateboarding event. In 2019, Didal won two gold medals in the Southeast Asian Games. Since then, the skateboarder has been included in prestigious roundups, including TIME Magazine's Most Influential Teens of 2018 and the Forbes '30 under 30' Asia 2020.
View this post on InstagramADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
***
#WATCHCANDY: Subscribe to Candy Magazine on YouTube and follow @candymagdotcom on Tiktok for guides to college life and beyond.
From The Candy Bulletin Community
