SM Cares trains frontlines to build more inclusive malls

Becoming a truly inclusive Mall for All happens first through the people who bring it to life each day.

Through two complementary learning initiatives, SM Cares and SM Supermalls recently reinforced training for employees, frontliners, affiliates, and tenant personnel to help create safer, more respectful, and more welcoming spaces for persons with disabilities, women, and other vulnerable sectors.

The initiatives included Beyond Barriers: Empowering People Through Disability Awareness, a nationwide sensitivity training held on June 16, and the 4th SM Supermalls Nationwide Orientation on the Safe Spaces Act on June 29. Together, these training efforts strengthen SM’s capacity to create safe and inclusive spaces for all Filipinos. SM stays true to its commitment to expressing genuine inclusion through accessible facilities and programs, enhanced by every interaction within its malls and workplaces.

Beyond Barriers helped participants better understand the experiences and needs of persons with disabilities while providing practical guidance on respectful communication and appropriate assistance. Resource speakers from the Down Syndrome Association of the Philippines, Inc., Tahanang Walang Hagdanan, Inc., and Autism Society Philippines shared insights on meaningful participation, independent living, and the everyday actions that help people experience being seen, supported, and included.

“At SM, we strive to provide every customer with a safe, comfortable, and meaningful mall experience,” said Engr. Junias Eusebio, Vice President for Operations of SM Supermalls. “Regularly training our frontliners to exercise service fueled with care and empathy helps us continually curate spaces where everyone is welcomed, valued, and cared for.”

Building on this commitment, SM’s nationwide Safe Spaces Act orientation equipped security and janitorial teams, affiliates, tenant employees, customer relations personnel, nurses, human resources teams, and other mall frontliners with a stronger understanding of Republic Act No. 11313, or the Safe Spaces Act. The law addresses gender-based sexual harassment in public spaces, workplaces, online platforms, and educational or training institutions, including privately owned places open to the public such as malls.

The June 29 program also included the signing of a memorandum of understanding between SM Supermalls and the Philippine Commission on Women. Atty. Ma. Sophia Isabella P. De Castro, Chief GAD Specialist, PDPMED of the Commission on Women, served as a resource speaker during the orientation.

Held under SM Cares’ Mall for All drive, the two initiatives recognize that employees and frontliners play an essential role in turning inclusion, accessibility, respect, and safety into everyday experiences.

Because a truly welcoming space is one where every person is treated with dignity—and where everyone finds the space where they belong.

ADVT.

This article is brought to you by SM Cares.