TOPIC: CHOOSE TO CHALLENGE

Gender parity is still a goal. While the proverbial glass ceiling is being broken, it isn’t yet shattered. In this session, we heard from women who have punched through and men who are in positions to help or hinder efforts to achieve gender parity.

Our esteemed panel addressed the following issues:

• What barriers were overcome and how?
• What should men do better or differently?
• When are men part of the problem?
• How can successful women support other women?

Lt Col Jozette McLean, Director of Strategic Logistics Defense & Gender Advisor Chairperson at the Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force on facing gender bias as a woman in a senior leadership position in the military and how other women can challenge gender bias to succeed. 

Isabel Quiroz, Executive Director of the Association of American Chambers of Commerce in Latin America (AACCLA) on how companies and organisations can bring awareness to gender bias.

Vyana Sharma, Head of the Anti-Terrorism Unit at the Office of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs on the legal strategies to challenge systemic inequality in Trinidad and Tobago.

Stephen Bagnoral, Senior Vice President & Managing Director at Scotiabank, Trinidad and Tobago on what we can do to make men more aware of their gender bias.

COVID-19 IMPACT ON WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION IN THE LABOR FORCE

PANEL DISCUSSION

TOPIC: COVID-19 IMPACT ON WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION IN THE LABOR FORce  

Women have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This session explored the following issues:

• Impact of remote work and remote learning: double burden for women?
• Studies are showing that most of the jobs being lost were held by women. What should we be doing differently to support women and keep them employed?
• The long term effects of women’s participation in the workforce due to COVID will likely force companies to revise policies, child care etc. Are men aware of these things?
• Are men adapting and playing a supportive role to ameliorate the negative impact of COVID-19 on women in the workplace?
  
  

MODERATOR 
COVID-19 IMPACT ON WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION IN THE LABOR FORCE

Karrian Hepburn
AMCHAM T&T Director

SESSION CLIPS

Stacy Homer, Director of Human Capital at UNICOMER (Trinidad) Ltd on creating a healthy work/life balance for women impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shola Agoro, Diversity & Inclusion Leader at IBM (Canada) on how companies can address childcare needs to assist women during COVID-19.

Shelly Mohammed, head of ACCA Caribbean on how companies can enforce key workplace measures to assist women during COVID-19.

Dominic Rampersad, President of Phoenix Park Gas Processors Limited (PPGPL) on how men can assist women in workplace during COVID-19

TOPIC: BOSS LADY

We often hear that being a female leader is tricky.

Session explored the following issues:

• Different leadership styles. Are female leaders expected to demonstrate leadership in stereotypical ways?
• Finding a voice in meetings and within the organisation regardless of role/position.
• What is mansplaining and how do we stop it?
• How do/should men react to assertiveness by females to facilitate greater gender equity?
• Emerging Leaders – Transitioning from Being on the team to Leading the Team.

SESSION CLIPS

Andrea Davis, Country Manager of DHL, Trinidad on how women can find their voice in the workplace.

Aliyah Jagessar Hamel-Smith, CEO of Global Financial Brokers Limited on how women can capitalise on their leadership strengths.

Debra Brown, President & CEO of Governance Solutions Ltd on how we can change the narrative and remove the negative labels often assigned to female leaders.