Women Urged to Dispel Misconceptions that Hold them Back

Wife of the Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Juliet Holness, is imploring women to dispel misconceptions that prevent them from realising their true potential.

This, she said, includes believing that they cannot attain certain positions because of their gender.

“I think we need to change that script that says that we are low-status women and we are low-status girls. We are often not seen in the way that we should be,” she said.

Mrs. Holness was addressing the launch of the We inspire Women Workshop and Brunch 2017 at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston, on August 22.

She lamented that while some progress has been made in reversing the dominance of males in the workplace, there is still a long way to go in achieving gender equality.

Mrs. Holness noted, for example, that 50 per cent of the world’s population are women, yet they do not necessarily have access to an equal amount of resources as their male counterparts.

She said that in Jamaica, while women outnumber men in terms of populace and educational achievement, she questioned how many women head businesses or play lead roles in other organisations.

Mrs. Holness stressed that the onus is on women to uplift and empower each other to strive for greatness.

“(It) is our responsibility as women to ensure that a segment of our society – ‘us’ – the ones that are considered to be most vulnerable because we are very often physically weaker, that we take care of each other,” she said.

Using herself as an example, Mrs. Holness further implored the women in attendance to work hard for what they want, urging them to not let their circumstances define them or their potential.

“We are strong, we can do anything that we put our minds to… . You must be inspired as women, as individuals to take charge, to take the lead and to be yourself, and to succeed,” she said.

“Know that there is no limit at all to who you can be and what you can achieve. There is no man on the face of this earth that is better than you,” Mrs. Holness emphasised.

‘We inspire Women’ is the flagship initiative of We inspire Limited, which hosts and creates events that inspire and empower girls/women to maximise their true potential and to find their purpose, which leads to a successful and abundant life.

The We inspire Women Workshop and Brunch 2017 will be held on August 26 at the Courtleigh Auditorium, and August 27 at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel, respectively.