Feminist Series — I am Camille.
I am Camille from Manilla, Philippines. The youngest of 7 siblings, I grew up in Lagos, Nigeria as my parents were assigned there for 18 years as physicians. I must say that my way of thinking was greatly influenced by my dad, the late Dr. Jesus R. Duque Jr. I remember my dad as a medical doctor who accommodated patients in our house during the wee hours of the night and accepted fruits and vegetables or eggs as payment for his medical services. My dad clearly demonstrated what a servant leader is truly all about.
I built my career in the hospitality industry where I worked for almost two decades. I once envisioned myself as a leader in the hotel industry and even undertook my Master’s Degree in Hospitality Management to further my knowledge in my chosen field. But while I enjoyed the “glamorous world” of working as a hotelier, deep down, I felt the desire to do much more; something with more impact on society. That’s when I decided to take a leap of faith and venture into unfamiliar territory that forever changed my perspective.
Back in 2018, I left my corporate life to focus on my family with the goal of having a baby after having had a miscarriage years back. My husband and I tried to conceive until I learned that I had infertility issues. While in the process, I discovered my passion for sustainability and inclusion and built my own social enterprise where I worked with various groups of women, including Persons with Disabilities (PWD), indigenous people, and others with the goal to give them not just a livelihood but a self-sustaining enterprise. It is important to me to advocate for and advance the interest of these communities. And as I believe that women should empower other women, I established internal policies such as flexible work schemes for mums and our other women partners, that allowed them to take care of their families and/or children while working at home. I showed firsthand that women didn’t need to choose between their families and their careers to be empowered.
But the journey wasn’t easy. In several cases, there were language barriers between our partner artisans and me and work ethics that were entirely different from what I was used to. Needless to say, it was a huge adjustment, physically, mentally, and financially, but rather than lose heart and go back to my comfort zone, I persevered and eventually learned to understand and even enjoy some of those differences. And soon after, all of the challenges that I had endured paid off as various opportunities such as gaining business traction from hotels and resorts and securing funding for production equipment for the communities that I work with started to appear. I was also able to establish my own name as a social entrepreneur, earning recognitions and accolades not just in the Philippines but also internationally.
In 2019, I was honoured to represent the Philippines in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Financial Opportunities Fair for Women-led Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) held in Taipei, Taiwan. At this event, I was hailed as the Overall Pitch Competition Champion and a year later, I received the Women in Green Innovation — Intellectual Property recognition from Intellectual Property (IPO) of the Philippines, Beyond Innovation, and “Creativity” eMagazine. Being a women social entrepreneur, I find it really fulfilling to see the lives of the communities I work with uplifted. It may be a cliché, but I strongly believe that each one of us carries the responsibility to make this world a better place.
About the Author
Camille is the Product and Marketing Expert at Includovate focusing on expanding revenue base through diversified product offerings. She worked in the hospitality industry for more than 15 years and has completed her Master’s Degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management at the De La Salle College of Saint Benilde in Manila, Philippines. She is also a social entrepreneur and is a strong advocate of transforming and empowering local communities through creativity and innovation.
Includovate is a feminist research incubator that “walks the talk”. Includovate is an Australian social enterprise consisting of a consulting firm and research incubator that designs solutions for gender equality and social inclusion. Its mission is to incubate transformative and inclusive solutions for measuring, studying, and changing discriminatory norms that lead to poverty, inequality, and injustice. To know more about us at Includovate, follow our social media: @includovate, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram.
