The Women and Gender Institute at Miriam College 

The Women and Gender Institute (WAGI) is Miriam College’s specialized center for advocacy on women’s rights, gender equality, and non-sexist learning in support of the leadership of young women and students. It offers a cross-discipline perspective on women’s empowerment that is interlinked with democracy, human rights, social justice and value formation. WAGI forges links with other sectors, organizations and institutions at the national, regional and international levels.      

Beginnings

Miriam College ( formerly Mary Knoll College)  was one of the pioneers in introducing women’s studies in the Philippines. In the 70s, the course “Women and Society” was introduced in the curriculum. In the early 80s, the school along with leading institutions in Metro Manila organized the Metro Manila Women’s Studies Consortium, the predecessor of the Women’s Studies Association of the Philippines (WSAP). In 1987, the Women’s Resource and Research Center (WRRC) was established on campus to address the “integrative needs of Women’s research, action and scholarship towards social transformation based on truth, justice, and peace.” 

In 1999, the Women and Gender Institute (WAGI) was established to continue the pioneering efforts of the WRRC with its renewed efforts in charting new   directions for the school’s women and gender programs. WAGI (which means “win” in Tagalog and “sister” in Ibanag) became operational in the Second Semester of School Year 1999-2000,   under the presidency of Dr. Patricia B. Licuanan

Vision: WAGI is an active co-creator of a just, peaceful and sustainable future through its promotion of non-sexist learning that   upholds women’s rights and gender equality

Mission: WAGI provides services in gender-fair education, young women’s  formation , feminist   scholarship and gender  mainstreaming in public policy, to academic and non-academic organizations and institutions in the Philippines and in the  Asia Pacific Region.

Values: WAGI upholds the principles of justice, gender equality and equity tolerance,  respect  and  authority