Amcham celebrates women in leadership

The American Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) TT has announced 50 per cent of its directorship is made up of women.

The announcement was made at Amcham's women's leadership conference on Friday by its president Toni Sirju. She said the chamber was pleased to have hosted the conference for eight consecutive years.

"Amcham TT has proudly hosted this conference every year in commemoration of International Women’s Day because we believe that by supporting and highlighting the barriers to the progress of women, we are doing our part towards creating a gender-equal world."

The virtual conference was sponsored by Scotiabank, FedEx, BP, the National Gas Company, Unicomer, Eximbank, Kenson Group, 3M and Methanex.

At the opening ceremony, Sirju said, "Right now, issues such as the pandemic, climate change, and geopolitical conflicts are undermining the progress women have made and threatening their lives and livelihoods around the world."

Speaking on this year's International Women's Day theme – Breaking the Bias, she said, "Breaking the bias means means rooting out negative stereotypes and prejudices against women; calling out sexism, protecting women from gender-based violence, and ending discrimination by both men and women; investing in diversity policies to create more inclusive and equitable spaces; reflecting on what may be our own unconscious bias and examining how this manifests so we can prevent it from reoccurring; having honest conversations about these issues and working together to create a gender-equal world."

She urged men, "When sexism occurs, see it, name it and stop it!"

She said the starting point of breaking the bias is to look at gender-based violence (GBV) in society.

"More than likely we all know someone who was the victim of GBV."

Amcham has partnered with the Institute for Gender and Development Studies (IGDS) and the Coalition Against Domestic Violence (CADV) in an initiative to prevent gender-based violence and abuse in the workplace by helping companies develop a workplace policy that supports employees who are survivors of GBV.

Sirju invited companies to contact Amcham to get involved in breaking the bias.

She also told participants to take what they learned at the conference back to their offices and leaders to be put into action.

Senior vice president and managing director of Scotiabank TT Gayle Pazos said, "While we know it’s morally wrong to treat someone differently based on prejudice it’s often impossible to avoid bias.

"The more exposed we are to groups of people, the less likely we are to feel prejudiced against others."

Almost three in four women experience bias at work, she said, and those who do are more likely to leave.

"Women of colour, LGBTQ+ women, and women with disabilities face more acute biases. Yet only one in three employees, including managers, challenges biased behaviour when they see it."

She said she was proud to be a part of an organisation that values diversity and equality in the workplace.

"In April 2021, employees’ insurance medical benefit was extended to same-sex partners, making Scotiabank the first in the local industry to introduce this for employees.

"In February 2022, we introduced a new global standard for parental leave."

But everyone, she said, " can be an ally and benefit from allyship."

Thirty-eight per cent of Scotiabank vice presidents in the Caribbean are women, and 53 per cent of senior management at Scotiabank TT are women.

Nadia Mc Carthy, head of BP's People and Culture, said, "None of us can confront gender issues alone or in silos."

She said BP’s sustainability aim 14 "puts the company's purpose into action, provides a frame and governs how we respond to diversity, equity and inclusion. As part of BP's purpose to improve people’s lives. Aim 14 sets out that BP will increase diversity, equity and inclusion for our workforce, customers, and suppliers."

She said BP's gender ambition is to have equal numbers of men and women in leadership roles by 2025.

Mc Carthy said, "Though it must be addressed at a structural level, confronting and breaking bias must come from within.

"We need to challenge the status quo."

She said six out of 11 senior leaders at BPTT are women.

FedEx's director of sales of the Caribbean Sonia Montes said 50 per cent of her sales team is made up of women.

"At FedEx, our workforce is as diverse as the world we serve, and we believe that everyone deserves respect. "

Embracing diversity, she said, "is not just the right thing to do; we also have proven that it fosters innovation and makes us a more competitive company."

Women, she said, "can lead with sensitivity and firmness, and I believe that to be our virtue."