Real estate and construction have long been seen as male-dominated industries. Ayala Land Inc. (ALI), one of the Philippines' largest property developers, offers a different picture. Women make up 53% of its employees, the company is led by its first female President and CEO, and in 2018 it became the first Philippine real estate company to be certified under EDGE, a global standard for gender equality in the workplace.

An early mover on certification

On March 5, 2018, ALI and Convergys Philippines became the first two companies in the country to receive EDGE (Economic Dividends for Gender Equality) certification, in a ceremony hosted by the Australian Embassy. EDGE assesses companies on factors such as equal pay, recruitment and promotion, leadership development and flexible working. The Australian ambassador at the time described ALI as "the first Philippine real estate company to be certified."

ALI was also among the founding members of the Philippine Business Coalition for Women Empowerment, launched in 2017 to encourage companies to improve gender equality in their workplaces.

Women at the top

In October 2023, Anna Ma. Margarita "Meean" B. Dy became ALI's first female President and CEO, succeeding Bernard Vincent Dy. She had been a member of the company's management committee since 2008, and has since been named to Forbes Asia's Power Businesswomen list and Fortune's Most Powerful Women Asia 2025 ranking.

She is not alone. As of October 2024, four of the nine members of ALI's management committee were women. Mariana Zobel de Ayala, a senior vice president who oversees Ayala Malls, offices, and hotels and resorts, was named to Forbes Asia's Power Businesswomen list in 2025. The company's construction arm, Makati Development Corporation, has also been noted for its strong pool of female executives and skilled workers in an industry where women remain rare.

The childcare question

Dy has been candid about what still holds women back. She has described childcare as the main obstacle for working women, and has emphasized that ALI promotes employees on merit. During the pandemic, ALI adapted its digital training programs so that female employees could participate while working from home, a change highlighted in a 2021 case study by the women empowerment coalition.

The national context

The Philippines ranks 20th out of 145 economies in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2026, the highest in Asia. Yet women's labor force participation remains well below men's, and leadership parity has slipped in the latest edition of the report. Companies like ALI show that women can lead at every level, from the boardroom to the construction site, when employers make it a priority.

What comes next

The public information reviewed for this article did not include ALI's gender pay gap data, the number of women on its board, or details of its parental leave and childcare policies beyond the legal minimum. As more Philippine companies report on diversity, the next step for leaders like ALI will be to publish these figures, so that its strong record on women's representation can be measured as clearly as its buildings.