Inspiring stories about the courage to break gender barriers were told by Lyqa Maravilla, Candy Pangilinan and other YouTube content creators in an event to conclude Women’s Month.
The event called “Breaking Barriers Online and Beyond” featured four content creators from different fields on the platform, and Google Philippines Country Director Bernadette Nacario.
Hosted by Miss Trans Global 2020 Mela Habijan, the panel touched on how YouTube helped their careers and in turn, how it helped them to inspire more people to follow their dreams.
The following YouTube creators who were featured in the panel discussion were:
- Educator Lyqa Maravilla
- Veteran actress and comedian Candy Pangilinan
- Pilot Chezca Carandang
- Businesswoman Jozelle Tech
The full video of the event can be streamed on this link: Breaking Barriers Online and Beyond – YouTube.
Lyqa Maravilla
Lyqa, who has amassed two million subscribers on YouTube, recalled that her journey started with the goal to help other women pass the Civil Service Examinations (CSE).
Her YouTube channel was launched in December 2015.
Lyqa, who was also a CSE topnotcher in 2013, learned that government workers could not receive a lot of benefits if they did not pass the exams.
This prompted Lyqa to invite some of her mom’s friends to her house to teach them.
“I met mga katrabaho ng nanay ko sa government service were already working for 20 to 30 years wala pa ring benefits kasi di nila mapasa yung CSE. So I had them come over sa house sa weekend, sabi ko ‘mag-aral tayo’,” Lyqa said.
This opportunity also helped Lyqa realize her purpose for topping the CSE—to impart her knowledge and help other women pass the government test.
“I didn’t plan on working for the government. Yun pala yung sagot. I get to teach other women,” the online educator said.
Lyqa’s first videos were also only made using a point-and-shoot camera and a whiteboard. She made them in one take inside her small bedroom.
The content creator further noted that she created her videos at dawn when her siblings were asleep.
Lyqa kept creating and uploading videos until she became part of YouTube’s program “NextUp” in 2017 where her network expanded.
Citing the latest data on YouTube, Lyqa has since accumulated a staggering eight million views in her content so far.
The licensed psychometrician said that she hoped to see more educator content creators in the future.
“I’m hoping to create an army of educators on multiple topics, hindi lang K-12 pero let’s start with that, pero anything that you want to teach,” Lyqa said.
Candy Pangilinan
“Hindi ko nga alam e. Dati comedian ako e.”
Candy, who now has over one million subscribers on YouTube, expressed this in jest when she recalled her YouTube journey started after she released her book “Mommy Dear: Our Special Love” in 2017.
The book tells Candy’s life as a single parent taking care of her son Quentin. Her son was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
According to Candy, following the book’s release, several people got more curious and started asking her more questions about their lives.
Candy said that she could not answer all their inquiries. This made her turn to YouTube to tell her and her son’s stories.
With just her cell phone, the veteran actress filmed their daily routines and activities. She then uploaded them on her channel.
“Before the pandemic, gamit ko lang my cellphone. Hnaggang ngayon, ganun pa rin kami. Kasi pag nakakita yun ng totoong camera, baka ibato, di ba?” Candy said.
Over time, her subscribers grew in numbers and then, eventually, she was able to grow a community.
“Honestly, yung burden ko 19 years ago has become my blessing today,” Candy said.
Jozelle Tech
Jozelle, who is the founder and CEO of her own consultancy firm, grew up with a disability that hindered her from walking.
She admitted that it is a “huge barrier” to her life.
“This physical challenge possesses a huge barrier to living a full life. What’s harder is that I’m part of two marginalized groups—I’m a woman bound to a wheelchair,” the businesswoman said.
Jozelle also bared that she has been discriminated since she was a child.
The need for PWD representation on YouTube eventually prompted her to upload her own videos.
“Naisip ko lang one day na parang walang disabled na nagtuturo online or walang anyone na actually sharing their life as a person with disabilities,” Jozelle said.
It was also through YouTube that Jozelle met some of her teammates in her firm.
Through her channel, Jozelle has inspired and helped different individuals, including PWDs, on the platform.
Jozelle attributed her success to her being an ambitious woman.
“Pero ang problema nga ambisyosa nga ako e. So I couldn’t accept that in my life, ito na ang magiging buhay ko. And so hindi ako nakakalakad, that’s why nagpatakbo ako ng kompanya,” she said.
Jozelle’s firm The Rolling Media has been helping hundreds of entrepreneurs, industry experts and brokers build their personal brands and their ventures.
Chezka Carandang
Chezka’s YouTube channel was born during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She bared that the COVID-19 lockdown made her pause and decide on creating content to help aspiring pilots enter the aviation industry.
“Kaya nung pandemic, nag start ako ng channel na kung ako before, nahirapan ako pano maging piloto. Gusto ko ako naman ngayon puntahan nila para malaman nila kung pano maging piloto,” Chezka said.
“It all started with one video on how to become a pilot and after that, naka-build na ko ng community,” she added.
Chezka then recalled how difficult it was to be a pilot before. She started as a flight attendant first before earning her spot in the driver’s seat of the plane.
For the past several years of her career, she was thankful that female pilots in the country seemed normal now.
Despite this privilege, Chezka still strives to be as competent as her male counterparts.
“Syempre, as a woman, kelangan ko rin gawin yung part ko na I have to show up every day sa work to come prepared na I have a passion for my job.”
Bernadette Nacario
Bernadette has been in the technology industry for decades.
Her role as country director for Google, however, only started in 2019.
Taking up the challenge of being a female leader in a male-dominated industry, Bernadette said that being a good listener became her edge.
“It’s not enough that you have a loud voice to be heard and to make a difference. Sometimes, it’s in the silence that you can be heard. And that is the power of a woman. Because it’s the woman who can really have that desire to listen,” Bernadette said.
“Listening is all about learning,” she stressed.
Last January, Bernadette was recognized as one of the country’s most outstanding women in the corporate world by the Women’s Institute for Sustainable Development, Opportunities and Mentoring (WISDOM) and the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (AmCham Philippines).
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