Celebrating International Women's Month with TaskUs

Just got off the International Women's Month event of TaskUs. I could have entitled this artilcle "of TaskUs", but I felt I was part of the celebrations hence the change. I felt I was talking among peers rather than guests.

Their thrust this month is "Breaking the Bias", Ms. Victoria Alchachupas the Division VP of Integrated Marketing at TaskUs says "We need to admit that there is bias, I'm proud to be part of an organization that is part of the solution. We focus on talent and skills, the more diverse, the better. 49 percent of leaders at TaskUs are women, and our commitment to provide the best employee experience makes us ridiculously different. It's a conscious balance in internal promotion and hiring to do that, we look at the capabilities and background regardless of gender."

Vina Paglicawan the Director for Wellness at TaskUs says "Working Filipinas are burnt out with intensified challenges brought by the pandemic. We saw the same happen with mothers, balancing work and home responsibilities. TaskUs has been relentless in providing tools and support to create healhty workplace for its employees so as to improve any feelings of stress, anxiety or burnout. Currently, the company has Employee Assistance Programs, 100+ Mental Health Professionals, Outreach Activities, did flexible parenting workshops, and put up a Solo Parents Group. Our employees always have a high satisfaction rating, 94% and they appreciate, acknowledge that they are being taken cared of."

Regina Aguila says "Women think they have fewer career advancement opportunities than men, organizations need to proactively support their employees growth. TaskUs has been pro women, pro family and inclusive for all. We have scholarship programs, expanded maternity leaves, 24 leaves policy including a birthday leave, HMO, on site day care and lactation rooms. TaskUS advocates recognizing top talents, have internal job promotion opportunities, tuition fee and professional development programs, employee resource groups, bias detection and allyship leadership training, everyone is allowed to speak up."  

Hearing that from the people at TaskUs felt sincere, it felt good hearing that they've not been discriminated by their gender, role or ethnicity. They also have seen opportunities of advocating for others, women, coach them, make them aware about not taking biases. Their goal is equality, and it is evident that they are doing good. Hope this gets replicated elsewhere. It is their culture to be inclusive, encourage everyone to participate and I think that's a good thing.

DS Loren Legarda's Message on International Women's Day

Former Senator and Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda recently released her message for International Women's Day. In it, she gave importance to empowering women and giving opportunities for those who are talented and skilled.

DS Loren Legarda says "Cheers! Happy Women's Month and Happy International Women's Day to women here and around the country!"

She adds "Women are naturally gifted, full of dedication and effort, of which rightfully deserve our support to further enhance their skills and talent, as part of nation building."

"We have been steadfastly supporting efforts to give more opportunities of livelihood, provide jobs and put importance in improving their lives with their own skills and talent. Long live the Filipina wherever they are in the world!"

i-Pop Girl Group CALISTA Release Empowering Single RACE CAR

New girl group CALISTA

I loved what I saw earlier at the launch of CALISTA, the newest iPOP Girl Group set to conquer the world by storm. They scoured the country for a little over a hundred talented girls and pick the ones right for the mix, and that's what we saw earlier. They've been training for months and with fire in their eyes, they're raring to go do the legwork to become the biggest girl group act in the world. 

This is the first time I'm seeing Anne, Olive, Denise, Dain, Laiza and Elle as restrictions from COVID in the country was just relaxed this month. Their launch coincided with International Women's day and that couldn't come at an opportune time. They came from different backgrounds, Anne is a triple threat and previously released singles, she also appeared in projects from Regal Films. Olive on the other hand is my personal favorite. She's very pretty, and was crowned Miss Teen Cebu 2019. Denise on the other hand has been doing dance for a few years now. She also has done international dance championships in Australia and wants this opportunity with Calista to soar. Dain has been in the pageant circuit. She's also a model and balance her studies successfully. Laiza has appeared in different TV shows, movies, a very versatile actress. Elle is also a beauty queen and a spirited dancer, you'll love what she does on stage and we saw them all happen today.

Calista with Niana Guerrero who performed this evening!

Here's their new single RACE CAR

Their first single called RACE CAR written and produced by Marcus Davis was also a hit with the press. With the catchy tune and fierce lyrics, it fit Calista to a T and personified who they are as a group. Answering some tough questions from the trad media earlier, they reiterated that they're not in the industry to become famous, but become an inspiration to people who would love their songs, dance and performances. They know their lives will change and in the next few weeks, they'll be doing a concert called VAX TO NORMAL in Araneta Coliseum. This means they'll be working doubly hard as they do that on April 26th, this is under Merlion Events Production. The concert will be shown on TV5 and will include Yeng Constantino, AC Bonifacio, Elmo Magalona, Andrea Brillantes, Darren Espanto and Ken San Jose. Last thing, although they're very talented women, they still have a long way to go and they're all raring to prove (and know) that they're worth it. You'll have to see them brave 

Before things go haywire, make sure you check out Calista on their website at calistasocials.com and follow their channels @CalistaMusicOfficial on IG and Calista PH on FB.

realme Launches 9 Pro and 9Pro+

Folks looking for a phone would be so happy as realme just released the realme 9 Pro. It's got hybrid dual sim slots (one you can use for micro SD storage), a huge 6.6 inch screen, 1080p 30fbs video, 16MP front camera, and three cams on the back with 64MP, 8MP (for ultra wide shots) and 2MP macro. Very pretty too as it's colorways are in Aurora Green, Sunrise Blue and Midnight Black in some countries.

Battery life is good for long play as it's got 500mah LiPo batteries. You can fast charge it too with 33W power with the proprietary USB C cable.In a way, this is a little like the realme 8 but the improvements and additions are sufficient to be called the 9 Pro. This is also available in 6/8GB RAM versions with the Snapdragon 695 5G processor, runs Android 12 and the new realme UI 3.0 which people love. The 128GB storage also is huge, so you can have photos, videos and lots of apps installed without deleting stuff. A little important for me because I do a lot of these things.

Austin Huang VP for Marketing of realme says "After being named the number 1 phone in 2021, thank you for your continued support for the brand. We have always kept our ears listening to the changing standards of the world. Among our offerings, we are excited to push boundaries with the realme 9 Pro series. Flagship features for a mid range phone. We dare you capture the light like a pro, to cater to a dynamic lifestyle." 

 

 

realme 9 Pro+

The phones will be having a bigger sensor, bigger light intake and better photos. The realme 9 Pro Plus on the other hand has better image output, better photos in low light situations, steady and still with OIS that helps with lessening blur for videos. It's a hardware and software combination that gets you to lessen noise, so you get a worthy image to post on socials and print. The audio has dual speakers with dolby atmos, those movie nights would never be the same. The realme 9 Pro+ has a MediaTek Dimensity 720 5G Processor, 4,500 mAh battery, Vapor Chamber Cooling System so you don't have to worry about heating. It's also got 60W Super Dart Charge, only takes you a couple minutes to full charge your phone. Don't be confused what to get though because both of them are quite good. 5G ready phones at this price point is simply good already, but they packed it with good hardware. 

According to tests done by realme Philippines, they've gotten no problems in gaming. Albeit sweat and intense use would play a role, they've had not seen any issues with the phones they've gotten. As for aftersales service, they have 20 locations nationwide minus one because of a fire in Alabang, but they're currently expanding in the country, so there's more places you can go to if you encounter issues.

They will also have realme Buds Air 3 launched on the 15th so stay tuned for that. It's very minimalist, active noise cancellation, 42dB of it. 30hours of playback. Dynamic Bass Bosst Driver too so you're getting that party done in your own head when you need it. It's also iPX5 water resistant, perfect for summer fun!