Mylene Abiva and Robotics Education in the Philippines: Building STEM Leadership Early

Words by Mye Mulingtapang | Photos courtesy of FELTA

Power, in her world, does not look like corner offices or titles.

It looks like a four-year-old girl holding a small robot for the first time and realizing she can build something that moves.

For more than two decades, Mylene Abiva’s robotics education in the Philippines has been building something most systems ignored—confidence, exposure, and leadership for girls long before artificial intelligence became a global conversation and long before schools spoke about coding as a basic skill. She was already introducing robotics to classrooms, training teachers, building programs, and quietly pushing an idea that at the time sounded almost unrealistic:

Girls belong in technology. Not later. Not someday. Now.

But the biggest barrier she encountered was never technology itself. It was expectation.

“Girls belong in technology. Not later. 

Not someday. Now.”“Girls belong in technology. Not later. 

Gender Stereotyping: The First Barrier

Within robotics education in the Philippines, she has consistently identified gender stereotyping as the earliest and most persistent barrier. It is not ability that limits girls—it is conditioning.

She believes the biggest obstacle that still prevents young girls from entering technology fields is not lack of intelligence, opportunity, or ability. It is gender stereotyping.

From a young age, girls are still often guided toward careers associated with service industries or education, while leadership roles in STEM — engineering, IT, artificial intelligence — are still subconsciously associated with men. These expectations are rarely written down, but they are everywhere: in toys, in school expectations, in family advice, in media, and in the quiet ways children are told what they are good at.

By the time girls reach university, many have already decided that technology is not for them — not because they cannot do it, but because they were never told that they should.

This is why she does not start her work at the university level or even in high school.

 She starts at four years old.

Early Exposure: Building Confidence Before Doubt

She strongly believes that education technology and robotics can be taught to children as young as four, particularly girls, because the formative years are when confidence is built — or lost.

At this age, coding and simple robotics are not about machines. They are about critical thinking, logic, creativity, and problem-solving. Children learn that they can design something, program something, and make something work.

Over twenty-five years of experience in education technology and robotics, she observed something that still surprises many people: girls are often naturally strong in design, programming, and systems engineering when they are exposed early and equally.

The problem is not ability.

The problem is exposure and confidence.

She often explains that the digital gender divide is not only about access to technology or education. It is strongly connected to self-confidence, attitude, and support. Girls must be given early opportunities to engage in STEM courses, robotics programs, and technology activities so they can see themselves in those fields before society tells them otherwise.

Girls must be able to shine in STEM — not just participate, but lead.

Proving Yourself in a Male-Dominated Industry

When she established robotics technology for basic education in the Philippines more than twenty-five years ago, she entered a field that was heavily male-dominated. She knew early that she would have to prove herself more than others.

So she focused on expertise.

She trained extensively in robotics, both locally and internationally. She earned certifications. She studied continuously. She made sure that when she spoke about robotics, artificial intelligence, or education technology, she spoke not just as an advocate but as an expert.

Women have a place in robotics.

Women have a place in AI.

Women have a place in engineering and technology leadership.

She did not try to fight the system loudly. She built credibility until the system had to listen.

“We shouldn’t have to apologise for our ambition or our boundaries.”

Technology Education and the Future Workforce

Today, the impact of robotics education is no longer theoretical. It is visible in the workforce.

Through education technology and robotics programs introduced in thousands of schools, new career paths are emerging for Filipino students — careers that did not exist when she began her work: prompt engineers, data analysts, data scientists, cloud managers, data engineers, software developers, cybersecurity specialists.

She believes robotics education is not only preparing students to use technology; it is preparing them to create the future workforce and future leadership landscape. In the next ten to twenty years, technology education will shape not only jobs but leadership structures, innovation, and national competitiveness.

Education, in her view, is the first step in economic transformation.

The Lost Female Talent Problem

However, she also sees a pattern in the technology industry: many women enter tech but leave mid-career, especially between the ages of twenty-five and forty-four. She calls this the “lost female talent” stage — when women become more focused on growing family responsibilities and companies fail to provide flexible structures that allow them to continue growing professionally.

She believes companies must establish negotiated work arrangements, flexible leadership pathways, and opportunities for women to continue leading and contributing while balancing family responsibilities. Retaining women in technology leadership is not only about hiring women; it is about designing workplaces that allow them to stay and lead.

Sacrifice and Nation Building

When she reflects on her career, the most difficult decision she made as a leader was separating her role as a businesswoman from her advocacy work.

There were moments when scaling robotics programs and building national robotics initiatives meant sacrificing financial gain in order to reach more schools and more students, particularly girls who would otherwise never have access to technology education.

She chose advocacy over profit more than once.

For her, contributing to nation-building through robotics education was not simply a business decision. It was a responsibility — something she felt she was meant to do.

Not a strategy.

A destiny.

Women in Technology Leadership

She believes women bring a distinct leadership style to technology and innovation — one that combines technical proficiency with strong soft skills such as problem-solving, adaptability, collaboration, resilience, and mentorship. 

Women leaders often foster inclusion, build teams, and bring diverse perspectives that improve innovation and long-term decision-making.

These qualities are often underestimated in technology industries that still value technical expertise over leadership intelligence. But she believes the future of innovation will depend not only on technical skills but on collaborative and inclusive leadership — areas where women often excel.

Changing the Education System

If she could redesign the education system to prepare more girls for STEM careers, the first thing she would change would be increasing STEM scholarships specifically for girls, particularly through national programs such as the Department of Science and Technology Science Education Institute. Access to scholarships, training, and early exposure programs would significantly increase the number of women entering engineering, IT, and artificial intelligence fields.

For her, policy, education, and industry must work together to close the gender gap in technology.

“Take up space. Your growth is a gift.”

Legacy

When she speaks about legacy, she does not talk about buildings, companies, or awards.

She talks about girls in robotics teams.

She talks about scholarships, mentoring programs, internships, international robotics competitions, teacher training programs, and knowledge exchange initiatives.

To the long-term impact of Mylene Abiva’s robotics education in the Philippines—girls entering robotics teams, leading projects, competing internationally, and eventually shaping industries.

She hopes that the organisation she leads — FELTA Multi-Media Inc., a company that has spent decades introducing innovative instructional materials and educational technology in the Philippines — will continue to be a pioneer in robotics technology integration in the Philippine curriculum.

She also hopes that the Philippine Robotics National Team — already composed of around forty percent girls — will continue to represent the country in international competitions and inspire future engineers and innovators.

Changing the Education System

Mylene Abiva is not only the President and CEO of FELTA Multi-Media Inc. She is also a marketing leader, entrepreneur, robotics education advocate, mentor, and one of the most influential women in Philippine business and technology education.

Over the years, she has served as Past President of the Philippine Marketing Association, organiser of the Philippine Robotics Olympiad, World Robot Olympiad Ambassador, Go Negosyo mentor, and President of the Women’s Business Council Philippines. She has been recognized as Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year (Women Entrepreneur), ASEAN Woman Entrepreneur, one of the 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the World, and a United Nations Women Empowerment Awardee for leadership and gender-responsive marketplace initiatives.

But titles and awards are not what define her work. Her work has never been only about robots. It has always been about confidence, opportunity, education, and leadership — and the belief that the future should be built by everyone.

One day, many of the engineers and innovators coming from the Philippines will not know her name, but they will be working in a future she helped build. And that is the kind of power that lasts.