The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) has awarded 18 female college students from different universities with scholarship grants that will help them pursue their dreams of becoming professional electrical engineers.

The scholarship will cover the expenses of the selected junior Electrical Engineering students from the Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology, Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), and the University of the Philippines Diliman and Los Baños.

In particular, the Meralco scholars will receive allowances for food, transportation, internet connectivity, and books as well as financial assistance for their review and board examination in their final year of studies. They will also have the opportunity to undertake their internship in Meralco, and eventually explore career opportunities with the power distributor upon graduating.

“These investments on the education of women and helping them realize their full potential are the beginnings that will shape an energy industry that is inclusive,” One Meralco President Jeffrey O. Tarayao, who is also the Meralco Chief CSR Officer, said during the awarding ceremonies.

He added that the chosen students have the responsibility to be an inspiration to their families, classmates, and teachers, and to the many women who are seeking to develop their full potentials and to become leaders of the society.

For Janah Allaine Rivera, one of the scholarship recipients from PUP, the financial support from Meralco would unburden her family of her educational expenses given the financial challenges they encountered during the pandemic.

“This program would be a great help for our academics since we no longer have to worry about how to pay for our studies. The scholarship grant has given me and my family some breathing space financially, especially after the pandemic,” Rivera said.

This scholarship program for women engineers called “MPowHER” forms part of Meralco’s unwavering commitment to increase women participation in the energy industry.

“We launched this scholarship program with a specific purpose of providing more opportunities for women in an otherwise dominated power industry. The current global energy average in terms of the benchmark is 11% of the population,” Maria Luisa V. Alvendia, Meralco Chief of Staff and Supply Chain Advisor, said during the awarding ceremonies.

“We are proud to note that we almost doubled it in Meralco. Though we are at 21.9%, we will not stop there. It is really our intention to include women as part of our Diversity and Inclusivity Program in the company,” she added.

Meralco’s overarching diversity and inclusion program called #Mbrace aims to promote a gender-balanced workplace by increasing women representation in the workforce to at least 40% by 2030. It is aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 5 on Gender Equality and UN SDG 10 on Reduced Inequalities.