In the Philippines, women are breaking barriers in finance leadership, outnumbering men in banking managerial and executive roles since 2021, with significant positions held at institutions like the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), where two of five deputy governors and eight of nine assistant governors were women as of January 2025.
Despite this progress, challenges persist, including female representation in senior management dipping to 39% in 2022 from 48% in 2021, women occupy only 40% of executive leadership teams in publicly listed companies (2020-2022 data), and female CEOs remain at just 13%, often in support roles rather than operational ones.
These trends underscore the need for sustained efforts in mentorship and inclusion, aligning with International Women's Day 2026's "Give to Gain" theme, as leaders drive gender-responsive budgeting and financial literacy programs to empower women entrepreneurs and close gaps in investment and credit access.
Hazel Nuñez, an experienced finance professional with 27 years of expertise, exemplifies resilient leadership in finance through her commitment to respect, hands-on learning, and collective growth across multiple entities in the Philippines and abroad.
Building credibility early on
Nuñez's career began with a profound lesson in humility and interpersonal skills. Thrust into a supervisory role over more senior colleagues, she learned quickly that true authority stems not from position, but from respect and acknowledgement of others' expertise.
"I respect what you're doing," she would affirm during an interview with FutureCFO, recognising her limits while trusting their domain knowledge to produce accurate financial statements.
This approach built credibility that endures. Hands-on immersion in financial reporting and operations demystified complexity, teaching her that every challenge is solvable through collaboration and a desire to learn.
"Everything can be learned," she reflected, stressing that practical experience lends authenticity to leadership. No longer mere theorists, managers with such grounding command trust, essential for navigating high-stakes finance environments where Philippine women are already predominant in managerial roles but need such foundations to ascend further.
She struggled to build the internal resilience needed to lead diverse teams, turning potential friction into collaborative strength amid a landscape where gender-responsive initiatives, like BSP's financial literacy programs, bolster entry-level growth.
Bridging numbers and business
Advancing to financial planning, analysis, and business controlling, Nuñez shifted from pure number-crunching to understanding the business heart. Finance professionals often fixate on costs, yet she realised some investments yield long-term value despite short-term hits. Defending budgets required storytelling—articulating necessity, risk appetite, and strategic fit to secure approvals.
A pivotal achievement came in standardising processes amid growth. Releasing long-held tasks to other teams required overcoming an ownership mentality and prioritising organisational efficiency. "It's contributing to the greater goal," she noted, smoothing transitions that enhanced uniformity without disrupting operations.
Publicly, Nuñez has echoed this in forums, advocating that finance leaders connect metrics to business narratives, much as she emphasises portfolio strategies over isolated losses. This mindset propelled her to senior roles, proving that women can thrive by aligning financial rigour with operational empathy, especially as Philippine banking has seen women outnumber men in leadership since 2021, yet faces hurdles to full C-suite parity.
Senior leadership triumphs
At the helm of accounting and internal control centres of excellence, Nuñez's accomplishments centre on process pillars and seamless shifts. Amid ongoing transformations, she proactively takes on ad hoc tasks to prevent stalls. "We own this task," she instructs her team, adding value until accountability is clarified.
Driving finance evolution involves scrutinising roles against pillars, ensuring no gaps in interactions. Her focus on continuity amid flux highlights maturity: leaders must adapt to global standardisation, where local uniqueness meets templated systems.
These feats underscore her expertise in internal controls, blending compliance with innovation. For women in finance, her trajectory shows senior success arises from embracing change, not resisting it—paving pathways for others in a Philippine context where executive teams hold only 40% women, calling for more "give to gain" momentum.
Value over complexity
Embracing digitalisation and automation, Nuñez applies pragmatic criteria: assess local uniqueness against global templates to ensure nothing falls through the cracks. Though decisions are centralised globally, she customises minimally (10-20%) to preserve value and avoid over-complication.
In shared services shifts, she safeguards uniform processes and assumes interim responsibilities. This forward-thinking aligns with her public commentary on sustainable leadership, where technology sustains growth without bureaucratic bloat, and with BSP efforts to promote digital banking and e-wallets for women balancing work and home.
Her balanced view empowers women leaders: vet tools for genuine benefits, fostering efficiency that amplifies careers and organisations alike.
Harmony in tension
Balancing profitability, compliance, and sustainability demands business acumen. Nuñez justifies costs by long-term goodwill, even unquantifiable, while mitigating risks in regulated sectors like healthcare. Local contexts adapt global rules, with layered audits and anti-bribery safeguards.
Communication is key: weave stories linking spends to strategy, defending essentials while trimming excesses. This equilibrium, drawn from her interviews, positions finance as an enabler, not a mere gatekeeper, much like government leaders' push for gender-tagged budgets under Republic Act 9710 to address disparities.
Women emulating this navigate tensions masterfully, turning constraints into credible advocacy.
Mentoring for collective rise
Aligned with "Give to Gain," Nuñez champions people development via internal universities and morale-boosting investments. High spirits yield loyalty, especially among Gen Z, helping prevent turnover risks such as knowledge loss or erroneous reporting.
"Investing in them makes them give back," she says, nurturing motivation for creativity and retention. Her peach tree metaphor—CEO nurtures roots, fruits (employees) flourish—embodies uplifting leadership, resonating with calls for supportive cultures to reverse senior management dips from 48% to 39% women.
In public platforms, she reinforces this: sustain transformative leadership through shared growth, accelerating women's advancement in finance, where board representation rose modestly to 21%.
Timeless advice: See the bigger picture
For aspiring women in finance, Nuñez urges them to transcend "what's in it for me?" View yourself in the big picture—fit into teams, cooperate beyond individual skills. "Helping others does not reduce our capacity," she affirms; rising together strengthens all.
Balance self-investment with stakeholder needs. Great skills falter without collaboration, nurture teams for enduring success. This "give to gain" ethos, timely for International Women's Day 2026, calls on women to mentor, share knowledge, and create opportunities, building on Philippine strides such as simplified lending for women-led MSMEs.
Nuñez's story proves that generosity multiplies impact, lighting paths for future finance trailblazers.
