March 8 is International Women’s Day, a global event marking the achievements of women in economics, politics, society and more.
It’s a time to celebrate how far we’ve come and acknowledge what remains to be done.
At Alibaba Group and its affiliates, we listened to stories from women who have seized opportunities to train, build businesses, lead others while driving change.
In Pakistan, more women have thrived in e-commerce fulfillment, while a host of aspiring women entrepreneurs in the Philippines are putting their business plans into action on one of Southeast Asia’s biggest online retail platforms.
Women in remote areas of Türkiye benefited from digital training to bootstrap sales of their handicrafts to a wider market. In rural China, Alibaba’s first rural commissioner is helping local farmers do the same.
Discover the stories of these change-makers below
Lazada Supports Women Entrepreneurs in the Philippines
In the Philippines, entrepreneurs from all walks of life are leveraging e-commerce platform Lazada to start businesses.
Ahead of this year’s International Women’s Day, Lazada Philippines and advocacy agency She Talks Asia joined forces to produce a “Female Fridays” podcast series to share the experiences of business leaders on the platform.
These are stories worth celebrating, as Asia Pacific has one of the lowest rates of women start-up activity (7.1%) worldwide, according to the 2023 edition of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Women Entrepreneurship Report.
“What I appreciated about the Lazada team most is how they’re very collaborative,” Veronica Eala Garcia said. “The program in itself helps women entrepreneurs to reach the consumers, and that support is really huge.”
The serial entrepreneur launched a magnetic lash brand called Luxx Lash in 2018 and more recently co-founded color cosmetics label Five Beauty alongside marketing expert Isabel Regino and actor Gabbi Garcia.
Five Beauty is built on the idea that women only need five beauty essentials: cheeks, lips, brows, concealer and sunscreen. Their first collection was released first on the Lazada app.
Explore Alizila’s archive of Lazada stories
On the Job with Alibaba’s First Female Rural Commissioner
Asian Games torchbearer, tractor driver and trailblazer – three of the many descriptors you could use for rural digitalization expert Liu Yunfei.
Liu is one of 29 rural commissioners deployed by Alibaba since 2019 to support economic growth in underdeveloped counties across China. She is also the first woman to hold the position.
Villagers in these remote areas don’t have as much access to technology and other resources as city dwellers.
Over the last four years, Liu has worked to foster e-commerce in Zhangbei, a grassland-covered county in northern China. She led a team to revitalize the local handicraft industry, providing additional employment to over 3,000 women in the area.
Liu also spearheaded a campaign to raise awareness about local agriculture. Over four years, the program helped farmers in Zhangbei sell some RMB100 million ($13.9 million) in produce and provided to e-commerce training to more than 5,000 people.
Even when she’s not in the fields or meeting with Zhangbei residents, Liu stays busy.
Most recently, she was selected as a torchbearer for the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games and carried the flame in a relay of 2,022 runners who passed through 11 cities.
Find everything philanthropy-related here
Daraz Reaches 40% Women Staffing at Pakistan Fulfilment Centres
South Asian e-commerce platform Daraz is empowering women workers in Pakistan.
The company hit a major milestone earlier this year when it announced that women staff 40% of roles in its fulfillment facilities in the country.
“Females in operations was a taboo topic, however we’re breaking the barriers which has changed the dynamics of our operations throughout Pakistan,” said Ahmed Tanveer, COO at Daraz Pakistan.
Read the latest news from Daraz
Empowering Türkiye’s Next Generation of Women Digital Entrepreneurs
Did you know that worldwide, women are 12% less likely than men to own a mobile phone? Around 6% fewer women have internet access, according to United Nations data.
In rural Türkiye, online retail company Trendyol is working to bridge this gap and support equal access to digital tools as part of its Villages of Tomorrow initiative in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
In 2023, the partnership launched three digital centers in Adana, Diyarbakir and Izmir to develop sustainable and technology-based production hubs that uplift local entrepreneurs and artisans with a focus on women, youth and people with disabilities.
For many women looking to start a business in a rural area, the retail sector – from handicrafts to clothing – is a natural fit.
In 2022, two-thirds of women entrepreneurs in low-income country groups operated in this industry, compared with around 35% in high-income regions, according to GEM.
The next step is to bring these businesses online to reach more consumers on platforms like Trendyol.
Within the next five years, the Villages of Tomorrow project aims to reach over 1 million people in Türkiye and increase the number of e-commerce entrepreneurs in these villages by 60%.
Explore more major milestones at the company
Cultivating a Vibrant Workplace at Alibaba Cloud
International Women’s Day is a time to celebrate diversity and inclusion in the workforce.
Cloud computing and artificial intelligence hub Alibaba Cloud welcomes employees from a wide range of backgrounds and helps create opportunities for personal and professional growth.
For Joanne Sun, Global Talent Acquisition Manager at Alibaba Cloud, “it’s like a puzzle because I will have to navigate through the nuances of finding the right fit.”
She handles hiring across multiple countries focusing on Southeast Asia and Europe, where she helps pair candidates with positions.
“What I love about my role is the opportunity to connect with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures,” she explained in a recent interview.
The wider Alibaba ecosystem has employees from more than 60 countries and regions, according to its latest Environmental, Social and Governance Report published in 2023, while women account for 49.1% of employees and 41.9% of management.
