From left: Chairperson, Commerce Facilitation Activity Pressure, Authorities of Jamaica Patricia Francis; chief medical officer, Ministry of Well being, Dr Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie; managing director, Stewart’s Automotive Group Jacqueline Stewart; CEO and president, Scotia Group Jamaica, Audrey Tugwell-Henry; president, Jamaica Psychological Society Djavila Ho; performing director normal, STATIN, Leesha Delatie-Budair; and deputy director normal, sustainable improvement and social planning, PIOJ, Claire Bernard. All of them shared shows from totally different views on the lately held public discussion board ‘The State of Jamaican Ladies’, hosted by the Scotiabank Ladies Initiative at AC Lodge in New Kingston..
DESPITE vital strides in training and entrepreneurship, Jamaican ladies proceed to face systemic obstacles in management and monetary fairness. The persistent gender wage hole, challenges in accessing capital, and societal biases stay key hurdles stopping ladies from reaching top-tier positions in enterprise and governance.
Enterprise leaders on the current Scotiabank Ladies Initiative occasion on Tuesday on the AC Lodge in New Kingston make clear these disparities and the pressing want for systemic change.
“For each greenback that the common Jamaican man earns, the common Jamaican lady earns solely 62 cents. That’s an enormous distinction,” revealed Claire Bernard, deputy director normal for sustainable improvement and social planning at Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ).
A survey carried out by the PIOJ revealed that, whereas ladies are extra educated than their male counterparts, they expertise decrease employment ranges and earn considerably much less.
An evaluation of Jamaica’s Human Growth Index exhibits that, whereas the nation performs properly in areas corresponding to common years of education and life expectancy, the gender disparity in earnings is obtrusive. On common, Jamaican males earn 54 per cent greater than ladies in gross nationwide earnings.
“Regardless of the nation having an Employment Act that speaks to equal pay for equal work, and non-discrimination primarily based on intercourse, enforcement stays weak and disparities persist,” mentioned Audrey Tugwell-Henry, CEO and president of Scotia Group Jamaica.
She acknowledged that the societal discrimination contributes to the monetary challenges ladies face.
In response to Tugwell-Henry, the first obstacles stopping ladies from reaching the C-suite and boardroom ranges usually are not associated to competency or expertise, however relatively deep-seated societal biases and discrimination.
Whereas ladies signify 70 per cent of entry-level and mid-management positions, their illustration in government management drops to beneath 20 per cent.
One other crucial issue limiting ladies’s skilled development is childcare obligations. Many ladies wrestle to stability profession development with household obligations, which have an effect on their means to pursue management alternatives.
“I imagine the State has a giant position to play in offering protected, inexpensive, and dependable childcare — not simply to assist ladies enter the workforce however to make sure they keep and advance,” Tugwell-Henry pressured.
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this challenge, forcing many ladies out of the workforce as a result of elevated caregiving obligations. Nonetheless, optimism stays that ladies will proceed to push ahead regardless of these challenges.
One other survey carried out by the PIOJ two years in the past discovered that 80 per cent of girls entrepreneurs reported problem accessing credit score, whereas 43 per cent lacked collateral to safe funding, limiting their means to increase companies and construct long-term financial stability.
Nonetheless, Tugwell-Henry emphasised that there are not any banking rules that forestall ladies from accessing capital, and monetary establishments like Scotiabank provide focused programmes to assist feminine entrepreneurs.
“There are establishments like Scotiabank which have programmes geared towards your financial empowerment. You possibly can hunt down varied assets immediately to assist your small business thrive,” she mentioned, referencing initiatives such because the Scotiabank Imaginative and prescient Achievers Program, a 17-week enterprise teaching programme; and the Scotiabank Ladies Initiative.
Different organisations, together with the Inter-American Growth Financial institution (IDB) and the Jamaica Enterprise Growth Company (JBDC), additionally present assets to assist feminine entrepreneurs construct capability and succeed.
Encouragingly, the monetary panorama is shifting in favour of girls. Ida Liu, international head of Citi Non-public Financial institution, revealed in a Bloomberg interview that ladies will management over 50 per cent of the worldwide wealth market throughout the subsequent 5 years. This marks the biggest wealth switch in historical past, with an estimated US$100 trillion altering arms, of which US$30 trillion will go to ladies.
Tugwell-Henry believes this switch of wealth will drive financial development and social progress. As ladies achieve extra monetary affect, their investments and management will form the long run in ways in which uplift communities, economies, and the broader international panorama.
“The information exhibits that ladies intentionally spend money on influence initiatives. They’ve a robust deal with local weather change, ESG (environmental, social, and governance), and DEI (variety, fairness, and inclusion). We count on to see the stability of energy shifting in a really constructive method,” she famous with optimism.
