Four decades of feminist work in Mindanao.
Women Studies and Resource Center – Southern Mindanao Region, Inc. was established in 1982 and formally registered on July 23, 1983. It remains one of the key feminist institutions in Southern Mindanao, rooted in the concrete realities of Mindanao women.
Our story
WSRC began when a collective of women engaged in social development work and research came together to study the situation of women in Mindanao at the height of the Marcos dictatorship. This collective recognized that the concerns and issues facing Mindanao women were given little attention — and that a systematic collection of data on women's conditions was necessary to make their invisibility and marginalization a thing of the past.
Their first collaborative study, conducted with the Mindanao Sulu Secretariat for Social Action (MISSSA), was published as Voice of Mindanao Women (1983) — one of the first systematic research outputs on women's conditions in Mindanao.
The collective formally became the Women Studies and Resource Center on July 23, 1983. Over more than four decades, WSRC has grown into one of the key feminist institutions in Southern Mindanao, providing research, education, training, advocacy, and direct services to some of the most marginalized women in the region.
Davao City, where WSRC is based, holds the distinction of being the first city in the Philippines to enact a Women's Development Code (1997) — a landmark ordinance that WSRC actively participated in drafting and reviewing, most recently contributing to its formal amendment in 2019–2020.
WSRC envisions a progressive, egalitarian, gender-fair, and sovereign society free from discrimination and exploitation, where women actively and meaningfully participate in all political, social, and economic endeavors towards peaceful and sustainable development.
WSRC promotes women's empowerment and gender equality through education, research, capacity-building, and collective action — deconstructing patriarchal beliefs, building alliances, and providing tools for financial independence and community leadership.
WSRC's work is grounded in a feminist, rights-based, participatory, intersectional, and community-centered approach — recognizing the layered realities of Lumad, Moro, and settler women across Mindanao.
Core values
The tri-people women of Mindanao.
WSRC is dedicated to empowering the three major population groups of Mindanao:
- Lumad (Indigenous Peoples) Women — from ethnolinguistic communities in Southern Mindanao, including those affiliated with SABOKAHAN and other indigenous women's organizations.
- Moro Women — Muslim women from Mindanao's Islamic communities.
- Settler Women — women from non-indigenous, non-Muslim communities who have settled in Mindanao.
Beyond the tri-people framework, WSRC's services also reach urban poor communities, women workers in agriculture and industry, survivors of violence, youth, students, and grassroots organizers across Davao Region, Davao del Norte, Davao de Oro, SOCSARGEN, and CARAGA.
Board of Trustees
WSRC's governance is built on principles of collective leadership, co-responsibility, and participatory decision-making. The Board of Trustees is the highest policy and decision-making body of WSRC.
Herminigilda D. Escalante
Official Representative
Lyda J. Canson
Elsa D. Villanueva
Rosena D. Sanchez
Evangeline M. Guinto
Dr. Jean Suzette A. Lindo
Kenette Jean Millondaga
Research Coordinator (part-time)
Serving Mindanao's most marginalized communities.
WSRC operates primarily in the Davao Region (Region XI) of Southern Mindanao, with program reach extending to Davao City, Davao del Norte, Davao de Oro (formerly Compostela Valley), SOCSARGEN (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, General Santos), and the CARAGA Region.
A registered, accountable institution.
SEC Registration No.
CN 200730875
Tax Identification No.
006-843072-000
Founded
1982 (formally registered July 23, 1983)
Non-stock, non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines.
One of the first and longest-running feminist institutions in Southern Mindanao.
Block 28, Lot 11-C
Springtime Village, Bangkal
Davao City