Cover A view of Luzon, Philippines from space (Photo: Courtesy of NASA)
A view of Luzon, Philippines from space (Photo: Courtesy of NASA)
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As the Philippines’ first woman to lead its space agency, physicist Gay Jane Perez is working to make space science more tangible on Earth while pushing more women to have a place in building what comes next
Space can feel impossibly far from everyday life. Satellites orbit hundreds of kilometres above the Earth; space missions require sophisticated engineering and years of research. Yet for Tatler Philippines Front & Female Innovation awardee Gay Jane Perez, the value of space science is measured by what it can do for people on the ground.
As director general of the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA), Perez is helping build the country's capacity to use space technology not as an abstract marker of scientific progress, but as a practical tool for national development.
Her own career has long occupied that intersection. A physicist and environmental scientist, Perez has worked with satellite remote sensing to study vegetation, surface temperature, rainfall and soil moisture, applying data from space to problems as grounded as agricultural planning and drought forecasting. She has also led science and data-processing teams behind the Philippines' Diwata microsatellites.
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It is a fitting foundation for her current role, which she describes less as directing space missions herself and more as creating the conditions for others to do meaningful scientific work.
“As a scientist, it is typical to expect that our work will be confined to academia where we run research laboratories, lead project implementation, advise students and publish papers,” she says. “Instead, my work now revolves around laying down policies and programmes and getting resources so that our scientists and engineers can do the science, develop technologies and generate solutions that would bring the benefits of space to the Filipino people.”
Above Gay Jane Perez, director general of Philippine Space Agency (Photo: Jan Mayo)
Gay Jane Perez, director general of Philippine Space Agency (Photo: Jan Mayo)
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That shift—from scientist to policymaker—is central to Perez's leadership. It also challenges the idea that space exploration is a pursuit detached from pressing concerns on Earth. Satellite technology can support agriculture and food security, monitor environmental changes and provide information useful for disaster preparedness and response. The question for a developing space programme is therefore not simply how far the Philippines can reach beyond Earth, but how effectively it can use what it learns and builds above it.
Perez wants more scientists and engineers to be part of that conversation.
“Science needs people who can translate knowledge into policy, programmes and national priorities,” she says. “And I would love to see more Filipinas doing that.”
Her position carries another significance. As a woman leading a national agency in a field traditionally dominated by men, Perez is also making visible a career path that she herself once found difficult to imagine.
She recalls speaking with a 17-year-old girl from a rural community who faced the prospect of having to stop her education because continuing to senior high school would mean travelling farther and spending more than her family could afford. The encounter made Perez think about how many girls never get the chance to discover what they might be capable of.
“Sometimes, simply seeing that another path exists can be the beginning of imagining one for yourself,” she says.
For Perez, however, representation cannot stop at visibility. Women must also have the opportunity to stay in science and progress within it. She points to the realities that can interrupt otherwise promising careers: family responsibilities, caregiving and opportunities that arrive at difficult moments.
“We need to think beyond getting women into STEM. We also need to ask why some don’t stay,” she says.
The challenge is particularly consequential for a country trying to strengthen its scientific capabilities. “We have no shortage of intelligent, capable Filipinos,” Perez says. “The harder question is whether we are giving them enough reasons to build their careers here.”
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Above Physicist and environmental scientist Gay Jane Perez leads the Philippine Space Agency (Photo: Courtesy of Philippine Space Agency)
Physicist and environmental scientist Gay Jane Perez leads the Philippine Space Agency (Photo: Courtesy of Philippine Space Agency)
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For women, she adds, career decisions can be more complicated because they are often intertwined with family responsibilities. Retaining talent, therefore, requires institutions to recognise that careers are not always linear and create opportunities at different stages of professional life.
Perez hopes her own position can demonstrate that a scientific career need not end in the laboratory. It can lead to government, policy, education, industry or entrepreneurship. Nor does success require a particular personality.
“You don’t have to be the geekiest or smartest person in the room,” she says. “You need to know your strengths, develop them and use them well.”
That broader definition of scientific leadership is particularly relevant to PhilSA, a young institution still establishing the Philippines' place in the global space ecosystem. Perez is conscious that her tenure, like any government appointment, is temporary. Her ambition is therefore not to make the agency dependent on her leadership, but to make it stronger for whoever comes next.
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“I don’t want to build something that depends on me,” she says. “I want to build it for those who come after us, to set things up for them, make things a little easier, and give them room to do more.”
Perez's proudest achievements, tellingly, are not the milestones she can claim personally. She takes greater satisfaction in watching PhilSA's scientists, engineers, researchers and public servants accomplish things they once thought were beyond their reach.
Above Gay Jane Perez speaks about space technology before an audience at the University of the Philippines College of Law (Photo: Courtesy of Philippine Space Agency)
Gay Jane Perez speaks about space technology before an audience at the University of the Philippines College of Law (Photo: Courtesy of Philippine Space Agency)
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“Titles disappear, positions change,” she says. “But if you helped create an opportunity or even a little bit of confidence in someone that allowed them to go further, that stays with you.”
The same principle applies to the young woman who may see themselves in her. Perez does not want them to think, “I want to be like her”. She hopes instead that they think, “maybe I can find my own way here”.
That could mean becoming a scientist or engineer. It could mean leading a space programme, writing policy, building a technology company or pursuing a field that does not yet exist.
Perez hopes the institutions, policies and opportunities being built today will continue creating value long after her tenure ends. She wants to see more women across the space ecosystem, not simply as scientists and engineers but as policymakers, entrepreneurs and leaders.
There is still much to build. Perez does not measure her success by how high the Philippines reaches into space but by how much closer that future feels to the people on Earth—and by how many young Filipinas can look towards it and see a place for themselves.
Syrah is Tatler Philippines’ Power & Purpose editor, where she spotlights extraordinary journeys shaping the Philippines and Asia. She covers business, innovation, impact, and culture—chasing the people, ideas and forces shaping how we live and think today.
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