Jeiz Robles

19/02/2025

📣📣📣 Publication Launch in Singapore: Open to everyone while seats are available!!!

After launching Community Business APAC Summary for our Social Mobility research tomorrow in Hong Kong, the Singapore deep-dive will follow next week. Join this hybrid session hosted in person from Singapore and get to hear from our CEO Janet Ledger & our lead researcher Olivia Welch on key findings of what drives social mobility in Singapore and what organizations should be looking at to make real impact to people's lives.

We are also looking at Social Mobility from all angles hearing from our corporate sponsors, Clarence Ching from Access Singapore, Nathan Peng at Singapore Management University and Dr Tommie Chen from Institute for Adult Learning.

Get insights from our research and connect with other advocates passionate in advancing social mobility in the workplace and beyond.

Education is supposed to be the great equaliser, but is it truly levelling the playing field in Singapore? Our research tells us that two thirds of Singaporean students are enrolled in private tuition – is access to quality education determined by socio-economic status? ​

We're bringing together corporate leaders, grassroots advocates and academic researchers to explore the state of social mobility and the urgent need for change. We'll examine how factors like tuition costs and school reputation impact opportunities, and we'll arm you with actionable strategies to make a difference. ​

Join us to uncover the research findings and hear from our esteemed panelists. This event will provide valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities that shape social mobility in our communities as well as a lively discussion with the opportunity for questions at the end. ​

Singapore Deep Dive - Action: Addressing Educational Inequality through Institutional Reputation, Language Proficiency and the Impact of Tuition on Social Mobility​

📅 Date: Thu, 27 Feb ​
🕒 Time: 4:00 – 6:00pm (UTC +8) ​
📍 Citi Office, Singapore & Hybrid ​
👉 Register Now: https://communitybusiness.org/events/social-mobility-singapore-deep-dive

11/02/2025

The implementation of a 90-day suspension on United States foreign aid, particularly towards the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), poses a significant threat to the health, welfare, and survival of key populations in the Asia-Pacific region. It is imperative to facilitate immediate and alternative funding measures.

📢 APCOM Statement:
The funding freeze is a threat to our community
‼️ The implementation of a 90-day suspension on United States foreign aid, particularly towards the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), poses a significant threat to the health, welfare, and survival of key populations in the Asia-Pacific region. It is imperative to facilitate immediate and alternative funding measures.
📝 In 2023, The Asia Pacific region is currently at 78-67-65 and expected to achieve the 95-95-95 targets by 2030. Although PrEP is included in the national guidelines of 20 countries, PrEP uptake remains below 10%. There are only 204,000 people who use PrEP at least once in 2023 – only 2.5% of the 8.2 million target users by 2025. The total HIV financing in the region is USD 3.3 Billion with 64% gap to meet the 2025 targets of 10-10-10 and 6 95s.
📲 Read more: https://buff.ly/4gHfyTS

30/01/2025

2025 is a huge year for Community Business with a lot of things in store including our year-long campaign on Social Mobility for which our goal is to make it clear to organizations their important part in driving socio-economic inclusion and mobility, improving lives of individuals and families around Asia.

Different factors drive individual perceptions of access to opportunity and socio-economic growth and through out the year, we will be launching specific market reports that will dive-deeper into each of these markets starting with our Asia Summary Launch this February which is open to everyone. Join us and register here: https://ow.ly/y8gf50UNtmv

It's been amazing collaborating with our Research Manager, Olivia Welch for this whole campaign whose work with the rest of us in Community Business and our Corporate Partners has been instrumental in bringing this research and entire campaign to life and I'm excited to materialize the impact this will make.

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We are honoured to have Shalini Mahtani of The Zubin Foundation join our panel on Social Mobility APAC Summary Launch with the theme, Collaboration: Strengthening Community Networks to Enhance Social Mobility

The objective of this panel discussion is to unite perspectives from corporates, grassroots organisations, and academia to explore how strengthening community networks can enhance social mobility across diverse markets included in the study. The discussion will examine systemic barriers, such as limited access to professional networks, mentorship and social capital, and their impact on widening disparities. Emphasis will be placed on practical, actionable strategies that organisations can adopt to foster stronger community connections, improve equity in opportunities and drive meaningful change on a regional scale.

Sign up now! https://ow.ly/y8gf50UNtmv

29/01/2025

At SCMP Live's DEI Summit in Hong Kong last week, I had such a great time facilitating such a quick and energizing workshop on creating your 1-minute elevator pitch in building the business case of LGBTQ+ inclusion on behalf of Community Business.

For a workshop right after such a sumptuous lunch, I think we did pretty well in making sure people stayed engaged (and awake!).

Inspired by Open for Business' Economic Case for LGTBQ+ Inclusion of which Steph Galera-Robles gave an overview of, we looked at the macro and micro implications of the cost of the closet made the conversation local to the Hong Kong context, got inspired by leading business practices in Hong Kong from our LGBTQ+ Index, and built confidence in our attendees in being able to turn data and lived experiences into meaningful dialogue that creates impact.

It was a great afternoon spent with advocates from both corporates, charities and civil societies in Hong Kong. Thank you to everyone who joined us, you were all such a great sport in turning at least a 4-hours' worth of engagement into a packed 40-minute session.

Shout out to Manulife, MTR Corporation Limited 香港鐵路有限公司 and DFI Retail Group for making this event possible.

24/01/2025

Community Business represents at SCMP Live as knowledge partner for DEI Summit 2025 through our workshop on The Business Case of LGBTQ+ Inclusion, representation on the panel in intersectionality, and other collaborations for the different sessions.

Such a packed and truly insightful day.

23/01/2025

Equal Marriage is now in Thailand, now what's next? Laws will soon catch up on what this means for the private sector, get started early by leveraging Sasin School of Management Management's Inclusion Toolkit I had the privilege of contributing to when this was launched last year. Created by the community in collaboration with businesses with leading local practices for LGBTQ+ inclusion, this guide was made with all organizations in mind. Whether you're starting from scratch in your journey or already have leading practices, available in local language and accessible to all, the toolkit serves as a comprehensive and practical guide which does more than recognize equal marriage, but also gender identities, expression and more.

22/01/2025

Hyped up for today's SCMP DEI Summit in Hong Kong with Community Business Knowledge Partner for the year.

Opened by Sudesh T and Razlan Manjaji, I look forward to interacting with more than 400 attendees today across the plenary, our workshop and the different coffee circles through out the day.

16/01/2025

Community Business is bringing The Economic Case of LGBTQ+ inclusion to the upcoming DEI Summit in Hong Kong by SCMP next week.

Through learnings from Open for Business' report on the economic case for Southeast Asia, we are hosting a workshop on building the business case for LGBTQ+ Inclusion. Learn to build your elevator pitch and get inspired by leading practices from Community Business' Hong Kong LGBTQ+ Index to advance inclusion in the workplace and beyond.

More information here: https://deisummit.scmp.com/agenda/session/1536696

05/12/2024

Julienne Loh's lived experience of social mobility was fueled by her dedication to not let her starting circumstance define where she goes, rather by the decisions she make. Now Founder and CEO ResolutionAdvisory, she highlighted how as individuals and organizations have a collective responsibility to level the playing field.

Thank you for sharing your story, Julienne and to Mathew Mathews for facilitating this fireside chat at the Community Business 2024 DIAN Singapore Conference.

05/12/2024

Steph and I are such in a unique position that we are able to collaborate towards advocacy that we are both passionate about. Not only do we talk DEI through our date nights, or our road trips, we are both action-driven, always asking "so what can we do"?

It was a great opportunity to collaborate through Community Business and Open for Business in this event where we not only talked about leveraging thier report on The Economic Case of LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Southeast Asia, but Steph and I were also given the space to talk about our story, our family's story and how in this day and age homophobia has driven us to leave our home country and find refuge elsewhere. Precisely the concept of "brain drain" and reduced "gdp per capita" from the economic case, but of course, it's also so much more. While Steph and I chose to rise through the experience and continue fighting, not everyone has the voice, platform and opportunity to do so. The very reason why we do what we do.

hashtag ***r

🌟 Event Recap: Data to Dialogue 🌟

On Tuesday, we had an incredible session at our Data to Dialogue event, held in partnership with Open for Business. This engaging virtual event brought together thought leaders and advocates to discuss the Economic Case for LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Southeast Asia.
We kicked off the program with a warm welcome from Jeiz Robles, followed by an insightful presentation from Stephanie Galera, who shared her expertise on the importance of data in driving meaningful conversations around LGBTQ+ inclusion. Participants then engaged in dynamic breakout discussions, diving deeper into the topics presented and sharing their perspectives.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this important dialogue! Together, we are making strides toward a more inclusive future.

03/12/2024

As a neurodivergent individual, I have to recognize that I can't be and do everything. There are ceilings and limitations whether I want it or not and organizations need to be focusing on what can be instead of what should be.

Working with persons with disabilities needs to be well-thought off. In addition to hiring, one needs to prepare the workforce the person is being hired into. Because each disability is different, a system of inclusive leadership centered around listening, empathy, constant upstanding and taking action needs to be built.

On International Day of Persons with Disabilities today, can you take a minute to learn something new? Maybe listen to our podcast on Accessibility in Disability: https://lnkd.in/ggZvsuQB

🌍 On International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we honour the 1.3 billion individuals worldwide living with disabilities. This year's theme, "Amplifying the Leadership of Persons with Disabilities for an Inclusive and Sustainable Future", highlights the vital role of disabled leaders in shaping equitable policies and advancing global progress.

🔗 Head to our website to explore how we can support this vision: https://ow.ly/R9RK50UjEfa

29/11/2024

It was a pleasure to hear from global leaders on the important role that Talent Management needs to be playing on Social Mobility at the 2024 Community Business DIAN Singapore Conference.

Not only are employee networks crucial in elevating conversations to drive social mobility, organizations also have to be conscious of exposure gaps that result to biases and advantages that not everyone gets to access.

In the process of recruiting, engaging, retaining and promoting talent, how is your organization making sure that no one is left behind? Are your biases from hires from certain universities excluding skilled candidates? Are everyone exposed to networking opportunities or is it always just the same "top talents" given the same opportunities? How are you elevating introverted leaders who may have different ways of leading but are also as, if not, more effective?

As highlighted in this discussion, we all should embrace the discomfort in the discomfort and continuously hold these difficult conversations. If we won't, who will?

29/11/2024

The most valuable insights from the DIAN Network come from the network members themselves. Their perspectives, struggles and successes serve as a platform for others to be a safe space and to learn.

At the 2024 Community Business DIAN Singapore conference, I facilitated table conversations around their own experiences of social mobility and the cultural nuances in each country in Asia when it comes to this topic. A lot came back with real world examples we haven't tackeld before like how the passport you are holding actually makes or breaks an opportunity for someone, the biases towards or against the government has for certain communities when it comes to enabling economic empowement and so forth.

Join us in the network to learn from industry leaders and drive change together.

27/11/2024

Excited to be collaborating with my wife and partner in advocacy, Steph Galera-Robles as we bring to life the economic case of LGBTQ+ inclusion through our own lived experiences, together.

Join us as we demonstrate how to leverage data to execute a meaningful dialogue for impact.

📣Data to Dialogue: The Economic Case of LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Southeast Asia
💡 Speaker Announcement
👉Find Out More: Website page
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Join us for a virtual regional launch as we unveil the results of the recently published Economic Case for LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Southeast Asia! In collaboration with Open for Business, this event will provide a platform for high-quality, meaningful dialogue grounded in insightful data that impacts our society as a whole.
We are excited to feature two remarkable speakers:

Steph Galera (she/her) is a proud Asian woman raised in the Philippines and currently residing in Thailand. With 15 years of experience in various HR roles within a global tech company, she has become a strong advocate for LGBTQ+ communities in Southeast Asia. As the Head of Southeast Asia with Open for Business, Steph is dedicated to building the economic case for LGBTQ+ inclusion. She also consults for Radius Networks, leveraging her expertise to connect employee resource groups across Asia and globally.

Jeiz Robles (she/her) serves as the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) at Community Business. With over 10 years of experience, Jeiz is a subject matter expert in the DE&I landscape in Asia, localizing LGBTQ+ inclusion programs, and creating sustainable employee networks. A certified Design Thinking coach, she excels at building empathy and extracting community experiences to inform corporate DE&I strategies. Jeiz has contributed to significant resources such as the Philippine Financial & Inter-industry Pride Playbook and Open for Business's Economic Case of LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Southeast Asia.

Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with our speakers and learn how we can collectively foster an inclusive environment for all. Sign up now!

22/11/2024

At the Community Business 2024 DIAN Singapore Conference, hosted by Citi, Shruti Thakar welcomed us by affirming how DEI is a business imperative for them and sharing how DEI is everyone's responsibility in the company. Their leaders are called in to advance DEI through inclusive leadership and various practices.

Thank you Citi for being our conference partner, for being one of the sponsors of our Social Mobility research and for supporting Community Business and our impact all through out.

22/11/2024

I opened the Community Business 2024 DIAN Conference by recognizing that while Social Mobility is something that's just emerging in APAC as a terminology, it is something that has always existed and affects all of us.

I shared my story of growing up as the eldest in a Filipino family of migrant workers, and the privileges made available to me in spite of being part of several minority communities.

- I was privileged to pass and graduate from The University of the Philippines, one of the universities being looked up to in the recruitment process in most companies, despite the hardship my parents had to go through in order to make this happen.

- I was privileged to have connections and networks that introduced me to IBM as well as mentors and sponsors that inspired me through out my career.

- I was privileged to be told that "You are in charge of your career " in my early days setting the tone of how I navigated my career journey.

- I was privileged to be part of a company that values inclusion for the LGBTQ+ and the neurodivergent community.

Without all these, I don't think I would be in a better socio-economic position than when I started. And so, the private sector plays a huge role in social mobility because it's the workplace environment they create that remove barriers for people of varying backgrounds and characteristics, socio-economic status included.

It was a day of fruitful discussions, which I'll share more about in the coming days.

Kudos to the DIAN Team for bringing this all together and thanks to Citi, our conference partner for providing the space.

17/11/2024

It felt like a DEI-Alumni homecoming at the recently concluded IBM Ph DEI summit as we wore our red badges and reunited with friends from the DEI space from IBM, previously from IBM and from other partner organizations.

Cheering Steph on talking about Open for Business' Southeast Asia Report on The Economic Case of LGBTQ+ Inclusion.

Congratulations IBM BRGs for making this happen!