Top female executives at IBM Philippines make the work-life balance seem like an average task as they juggle their professional and family responsibilities, but not without the help of technology. In a recent round-table interview, five female executives at IBM talked about the challenges, the perks, and secrets to being a woman in IT.

The IT industry is often perceived to be a male-dominated arena, causing some women to still have reservations about working in the IT field. Aileen Rodriguez, 39, IBM Philippines? country manager for the financial services sector, said she had uncertainties herself before she entered IBM. ?Until now I don?t know how to drive a car; I?m not the type who will operate the DVD; I had a few computer subjects but that?s about it,? Rodriguez confessed. All these, however, were not taken against her, she recalled. Instead, like all other employees, she was subjected to a lot of training, including going to Harvard.

At 45, Anna Roqueza is IBM Philippines? country HR manager; she has held several positions in IBM since 1982. She claims that even back then, the company never took gender into consideration when hiring employees. ?It was always the Philippines that had women representation in trainings even then,? she said. Roqueza added, however, that although women already held technical and promising key positions then, what they found out in the 1980s was that most women -- after two or three years in the company ? eventually stopped working because they had to attend to their kids or because they got married and wanted to concentrate on having children.

The needs and responsibilities of women today have not changed, especially with the country?s culture: family will always be the priority. What has changed, however, is how business is done. While Filipino women before often had to choose between work and family, now the two can go together, at least in IBM, said Aileen Judan-Jiao, business development manager for IBM Global Services in Asia Pacific.

?It?s really about understanding that women have special needs that the company has to realize, and training the managers to understand these special needs,? added Roqueza.

Judan-Jiao, 37, who recently gave birth, shared that all throughout her pregnancy, she was working from home. ?I had to go on sick leave because it was a bed rest requirement for two months. When I was okay already, all through the nine months, I spent very little time at the office,? she said. Since Judan-Jiao had a regional role, she had to explain this to her Japanese manager because it was a relatively new concept to them. She also still had to be prepared to execute her job anytime of the day, which was nothing new because, according to Judan-Jiao, ?In IBM we are very mobile so our office is really our mobile phone, the computer, and a connection to the Internet.? She added that it was just a matter of making alternative ways to remotely do the work they have.

Judan-Jiao also disclosed that even while in a business function in Japan, she makes ?practice tests? for her son when exam time is near, either sending the questions through e-mail or saving them in her son?s computer before she leaves the country, and that she also still manages to create the menu for the week in their house while abroad.

Rodriguez, also a hands-on mother, revealed that she tutors her kids herself. She makes sure that she is around when the children get home and when they prepare for school. Rodriguez also is a parent representative in Ateneo where her kids study.

?It?s about having a choice,? said Judan-Jiao. Juggling home and office responsibilities is less difficult because IBM offers the necessary support system, she claimed. IBM Philippines conducts regular work-life balance seminars for its women workers and has also developed their day care facility -- which was put up in 2000 -- into a pre-school with two teachers coming in everyday. Rodriguez admitted to being one of the earliest users of the day care. She said the day care makes her feel secure because it has a nurse and is equipped with a camera surveillance system.

Challenges for women IT practitioners, or working women in general, however, do not revolve around balancing work and family only. Lisa Guanio, IBM?s Global Financing PC and xSeries sales executive for Asia Pacific, single, has been with IBM for 25 years now. When she stayed in Tokyo for some time, Guanio had to learn to be sensitive about cultural differences, especially since she was a female boss to a traditionally male-dominated society. ?I was reporting to this Japanese man and he made this Japanese team report to me and they were all men, so I had to be very careful, but I just had to show them that I could actually do the job and that there was some value to my being in that position,? she shared.

?For the most part, an IBMer has to be a technology person; it has to be second-nature to us,? said Judan-Jiao. Guanio agreed, saying that, regardless of the nature of their jobs in the company, technology is already a big part of how they operate, and that when technology is unavailable to them, they feel handicapped.

Carolyn ?Chestnut? Andaya, IBM Philippines? country manager for Marketing, stressed this point by sharing, ?I was in the labor room delivering my fourth kid and I was on the telephone. I had a laptop there, and I was still working.?

?You have to find ways to use technology for your own good, be extremely creative and figure out ways that will work for everybody,? said Judan-Jiao. According to Rodriguez, they do not claim to have the so-called work-life balance because she thinks achieving this is always a struggle, but with IBM giving them a choice, it somewhat makes the struggle less ?painful.?

For other Filipina workers, especially in IT, Andaya emphasized the importance of investing time in learning. ?Technology changes practically every two to three months, so you should be willing to learn and know what the market wants in order to excel in a very fast-paced environment,? she said.

IBM Philippines? work force is now composed of 50% female workers, and in top management the distribution is actually 60/40 in favor of women, while three out of the six country general managers in Asia Pacific are women.

According to the IBM Philippines executives, organizations today have to realize that women do have special needs which, if they only take time to understand and address them, would benefit women and, ultimately, work for the company?s advantage.

Judan-Jiao said women can give a different perspective as they are known to be more analytical and thorough with details. For her part, Guanio thinks that IBM has a strong business reason for investing in diversity of talent. ?It is the fact that you can actually retain in the company a very diverse pool of talent, which makes the business stronger,? she said, adding that when you hire people that are all like-minded, eventually the company will not be very strong because it cannot compete in different arenas.