VI women ‘pigeonholed’ in work environment - Sharon P. Flax-Brutus
Ms Flax-Brutus highlighted some of the issues facing women in the territory at a forum in observance of International Women’s Day, yesterday Friday, March 8, 2019, in the VI.
Equality
“I am honoured to be selected as one of the guest speakers at this event to celebrate International Women’s Day in the Territory… If anyone here knows me well, they would know that there are a few things that I am very passionate about and two of those are tourism and women’s rights,” she told those gathered
According to Ms Flax-Brutus, “The struggle for the recognition of women is real and I have decided to be a champion for the cause by advocating for equality for the rights whether at home or in the workplace. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I want preferential treatment for women… What I ask for and demand is a level playing field, no more, no less,” she said.
The director of Tourism pointed to the “Women’s Leadership Gap” report by The Centre for American Progress, which says, “Despite the fact that women earn almost 60 per cent of undergraduate degrees and 60 per cent of all master’s degrees in the US, they comprise only 255 of executive and senior-level officials and managers, hold 20 per cent of board seats and only 6 per cent are CEO’s”
Women behind – Flax-Brutus
She says that in the VI, while there are no similar national statistics, an informal survey revealed the following, “BVI Tourist Board: 13 members; 4 females, BVI Electricity Board: 10 members; 2 females, BVI Ports Authority: 11 members; 3 females, BVI Airports Authority: 10 members; 2 females [and] National Bank of the VI Board: 9 members; 5 females,” Ms Flax-Brutus revealed.
“I would like to see the day when we as women get an equal opportunity for the top jobs and that we get equal pay. When we are being recruited, our gender will not be a factor. No longer should we be pigeonholed into the traditional female roles,” she said.
She further revealed that as a woman in the territory, she pays a heavy price in the professional environment, “We pay an even heavier price if we refuse to succumb to the status quo and if we refuse to stay silent.”
Network & Build
“I’ve been side-lined from meetings, I’ve been reported on, reported to…you name it….in my life in BVI as a woman in a leadership role has been a challenge but it’s also been an opportunity,” she revealed.
In encouraging women to break the nasty tradition, she advised, “Build your network so you can build your net worth,” she said while urging them to innovate for change.
“We must build smart by building up our sisters, our mothers, our daughters, our friends, our co-workers…trust me…there is strength in numbers.”
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13 Responses to “VI women ‘pigeonholed’ in work environment - Sharon P. Flax-Brutus ”
funny to hear that coming from HER mouth when she is the one to hold people back with her micro managing personality.
I believe the private sector is making better strides. Harneys previously had a female managing partner, so did Walkers, Conyers have a gay managing partner, Mourant have a female managing partner and both partners are female. We will get there but we need to ensure equality of opportunity for all, whether male, female, gay, bisexual, trans etc.
Men do not get involved in this crab in the barrel mentality in the working world - at least not to that extent. It is obvious that those who are filled with undue negativity need to straighten themselves out if they desire to make anything of themselves. Their actions are downright despicable.