Celebrate International Women’s Month through the experiences of these 4 powerful women

Fresh from an Emmy win for her work at the 76th Annual Tony Awards and now directing the Philippine production of Broadway classic The Chorus Line, Karla Puno Garcia has always been proudly herself, despite what others had to say. “When I was younger, I felt a bit bullied for having a passion for dancing,” she recalls. “I think that really affected me over the years, and it [was hard] to find that confidence, even when I started performing professionally. But I’ve learned how to chip away at that, and be unapologetic about what I love to do.” If her choreographing credits are any indicator—including her work in Days of Wine and Roses and the Tony Awards, her infectious love of dance has more than paid off.

“I think it’s definitely undeniable how women have taken charge,” Garcia affirms. “We’re infiltrating every system, and I think it makes sense because we’re able to multitask effectively.” This is not empty boasting, but a fact, as she graciously gives this interview while a glam team deftly maneuvers around her. Her voice betrays no hints of uncertainty, only confidence and conviction. “We’re able to compartmentalise, to properly manage our time and produce quality work with grace and elegance.” She manages to juggle both a successful career in theatre while being a doting mother to her daughter, KitaRose, who recently turned one year old. “It’s really about balancing and prioritising what I love to do,” she adds. “It’s about becoming a better version of myself, which really changed when I [had her].

In terms of style, Garcia leans toward clean, minimal lines—basics enhanced by pops of colour. “There’ll be something really unique mixed in, like a bit of jewellery or a nice pair of earrings or a really [vibrant] top,” she explains. “To me, the most important thing about fashion and self-expression is how it makes you feel. If I feel confident, if I feel empowered and if I feel beautiful inside.”

“I don’t want fashion to wear me,” she declares. “I want to wear it.”

Both on stage and out of it, Garcia has shown how fearlessness and self-expression can carry you far, and she hopes that her daughter—and young women everywhere—can learn that they can do the same. “You can be a mum, lead with grace and hopefully, follow your passion and inspire others,” she declares. “You can only live your own life—it’s nobody else’s.”

See more: One singular sensation: Emmy winner Karla Puno Garcia reimagines ‘A Chorus Line’ for a new generation in Manila

It was impossible to grow up without seeing model Mikaela Lagdameo on the cover of a magazine. She began her career at just fifteen years old, travelling the world while gracing airwaves and runways with her presence. Her path to motherhood, on the other hand, started just three years later. “I came from a twenty-year marriage. I became a mum at 18, was married at 20, and now that I’ve hit 40, I see life so differently,” she reflects. “It has opened my eyes to so many things. I’ve actually started to know more about myself at this age, because early on in my life, I went from teenager to mother to wife.” She was forced to mature much quicker than her peers, clearly expressed through her cadence: gentle, steady and firm—traits that also served her well during her time as Store Specialists, Inc’s VIP service manager.

Now in the lengthy process of annulment, Lagdameo has learned to find peace and happiness in her own company. “I find satisfaction and peace just being alone, travelling alone, doing things alone,” she smiles. “It doesn’t feel strange anymore.” A loving mother of three, she considers her kids her greatest accomplishment—being able to raise and watch them lead their own lives. “Seeing them become independent, I always think to myself, ‘Wow. I was a part of that.’”

While Lagdameo is no stranger to haute couture, she has a fondness for fashion that makes her feel comfortable. “It doesn’t matter if you’re nicely dressed, but if you’re always pulling it down or making adjustments,” she remarks, as she mimics awkwardly shifting in her seat, “It just doesn’t work, so I choose comfort over anything else.”

The entrepreneur and content creator is not defined by her circumstances, but by what she’s done in the face of them. She encourages other women to find their own voice. “Know your values, and stick by them,” she asserts. “Be firm, and know deep inside what it is you want. Don’t be there to please people, but do things with intention.” But in the end, Lagdameo’s thoughts return to her kids. “I want them to be unafraid to speak their mind, and to stand up for what’s right and true, to live with humility and grace,” she says. “I want them to have that mindset—loyalty and values are the most important.”

“So take that bold step, because you don’t want to look back and live with regret,” she adds. “Keep trying new things, even if you fail—and I’ve failed so many times. But if I didn’t try, I wouldn’t have known, and that’s how you achieve great things.”

Audrey Go, the president of the Dexterton Corporation, has committed herself to uplifting the Filipino household through interiors that are familiar, warm and refined, all while fighting her own battles beneath the surface. She was diagnosed with and later recovered from breast cancer, while her father and brother passed away not long after. “There’s the illness, the grief, the responsibility all happening at once in a very short timeframe,” she reflects. “Through the last three to four years, I’ve learnt that strength is really a discipline of the mind; the ability to regulate your emotions, lead without reacting and choosing clarity over chaos.”

Since then, Go has taken great steps to find peace through careful management of her mental state, which include early morning meditations, journaling, reflection and prayer. “I’m learning to stay focused on what’s truly important to me—to observe my thoughts rather than being ruled by them,” she explains.

This mastery over mind, body and spirit, she finds, is present in all women. “Our emotional intelligence, intuition and ability to think long-term are really big strategic advantages. Especially in traditionally male-dominated industries, we shouldn’t try to replicate old leadership models, but instead, to lead with discernment and purpose.” Since taking the reins of Dexterton, Go has shown what can happen when leadership and passion coexist. Indeed, overseeing a corporation this large tests her ability to communicate and maintain composure daily. “Some people think that elegance and authority are on polar ends,” she muses, “But I think they are mirrors of each other. [It is] clarity, rather than command. If you act with composure and be clear with what your goals are, these two qualities can be balanced.”

Go’s thoughts inevitably fall on her mum whenever accessorising is discussed. “She loved jewellery, and it has become a symbol of what we achieve through life,” she recalls. “It’s powerful because it reflects everything we’ve gone through, whether it’s our resilience or how we’ve transformed.”

“It’s less about adornment, and more of a reminder—of who I am, and what I’ve carried.” 

Go continues to move with intention, expressing her femininity in her own personal way. She acknowledges the hardships she’s faced, but knows not to let herself drown in them. “Femininity is not a silhouette, a form nor a template,” she says. “It’s a spirit, and it’s how we present ourselves. As women and future leaders, we have the ability to be deliberate and grounded—to be free, and not to conform to what society says we should be.”

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Antoinette Taus rose to prominence as an actress in the early 2000s, most notably under the GMA network. However, things abruptly changed when her mother passed away from cancer in 2004. “It was sudden,” she says solemnly. “It happened right before our eyes, and it was one of the most painful things I’d ever experienced. She was my best friend, my idol. I wanted to be just like her.”

Though she did not realise it until much later, Taus struggled with depression thereafter. “I would wake up and think to myself, ‘what’s the point?’. I was surrounded by people I loved, I was still succeeding in my craft. But the emptiness of losing her made me question my whole existence.”

Initially a whim, and by her own words, a “divine message,” Taus started volunteering. It was simple: repack food and gifts and redistribute them to communities in need. “I never realised that helping others would help heal my own wounds,” she remarks. Not wanting this to remain a one-off event, she began to hold these missions consistently, until she founded the nonprofit organisation Communities Organized for Resource Allocation (CORA) in 2016—which she aptly named after her late mother. Taus would later become a United Nations Environment Programme Goodwill Ambassador, as well as supporting Greenpeace and Oxfam Philippines, further expanding the scope of her volunteerism.

Taus originally stepped back from showbusiness as she continued to quietly focus on working with these organisations, especially with CORA. But it was precisely her work with the entertainment industry, with all the communication and connections involved, that further empowered her to support the causes she was so deeply passionate about.

“I hope that the projects, the communities we've been able to reach now, the trees we've planted, the trash that we've picked and the youth that we've helped support, to educate, to train, to empower—I hope all that continues. If that can continue, then at least [I] can hopefully rest thinking that I lived a life that was worth it.”

Taus gravitates toward classic, clean and neutral fabrics, often those produced locally. “I feel like fashion is a statement of what you truly stand for,” she explains, “It's not just necessarily about the brand, it's about the person that designed it. If you're going to buy something, make sure it 's not just about what it looks like, but it also represents the values you believe in.”

Taus reflects, “We should never underestimate the path that is given to us, because even if we want to change directions or navigate [elsewhere], everything is part of strengthening a journey you think is new, but it’s not—it was part of the plan all along.” 

“I feel what’s held women back for centuries is that there are stereotypes as to what we can and can’t do, how we should behave,” she adds. “I feel the essence of being a powerful woman is being free to speak, to lead, to dress and to exist.”

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