Roel D. Apas, Jr., MPA, DSSC's Bachelor of Public Administration (BPA)-Program Head, attended the 3𝒓𝒅 𝑨𝒔𝒊𝒂 𝑷𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝑬𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉, 𝑺𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝑺𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑯𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 ( 𝑨𝑷𝑪𝑬𝑹𝑺𝑺𝑯 2024) on September 26-27, 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Apas was awarded the Best Paper Presentation at the International Conference on Women, Gender, and Leadership: Redefining the Power Paradigm. His internally funded paper, titled "𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲: 𝐀𝐧 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬” co-authored by Roy Molina, MPA; Noreen Faithe L. Puzon, CPA; Sheruel Matalandang, PhD;Cecile Lofranco, MBA, and Carmela Fe Ellaisa N. Flores, MSc.

The research emphasizes how Indigenous women deal with real-life barriers in male-dominated environments on their way to gaining a position of leadership. It supports the Sustainable Development Goal 5 (Gender Equality) by calling for broader and inclusive policies and empowerment plans that help Indigenous women become leaders. This work augments the discourse on gender equality and the retention of cultural identity. Moreover, it highlights the real-world obstacles that Indigenous women encounter while striving for leadership in a male-dominated environment. This work contributes to the wider conversation on gender equality, the preservation of cultural identity and creating more opportunities for them, especially in strengthening their capacity to lead.

Apas' recognition at APCERSSH 2024 is not just a personal milestone but also reflects DSSC’s dedication to promoting research that supports gender equality and Indigenous rights.

Following this achievement, Apas, alongside his co-authors were given awards of recognition during DSSC's Monday convocation sponsored by the Quality Assurance Office, on September 30, 2024, at the DSSC Gynasium.