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Last Updated: Feb 6, 2017 - 2:32:04 PM |
Minister of Social Services Melanie Griffin with Melisa Hall, women's empowerment guru & wealth coach during the Empowering Women to Create, Manage and Protect Wealth Seminar, November 9, Atlantis Ball Room
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NASSAU, The Bahamas - Ninety-five per cent of the persons seeking assistance from the Department of Social Services’ Food Assistance Programme are females, Minister of Social Services and Community Development, Melanie S. Griffin told delegates attending a women’s conference in New Providence.
Taking her lead from the conference’s theme, Mrs. Griffin said changing the economic status of Bahamian women is essential to the country’s advancement and will require making greater opportunities available for more and more women to become entrepreneurs and shapers of their own destiny.
Addressing the opening session of the International Business Money Women Success Conference held at the Atlantis Grand Ballroom, Mrs. Griffin said statistics show that while the rate of unemployment between males (14.8 per cent) and females (13.2 per cent) favoured females, a whopping 95 per cent of the clientele utilising the Department of Social Services’ Food Assistance Programme for New Providence were women.
The Department has spent between $10-11million on the Food Assistance Programme so far this year.
“So what does this say about the economic status of Bahamian women today?” Mrs. Griffin asked.
“Too many women live in poverty, struggling to feed their children and placing themselves in harm’s way to provide for them. Too many women remain in toxic relationships that are detrimental to their wellbeing and that of their children often ending in domestic violence or an untimely grave.
“We must help each other; we must empower each other; we must empower ourselves and we must show our sisters a better way,” Mrs. Griffin added.
Minister Griffin said changing the economic status of Bahamian women is going to require bold initiatives from amongst the various sectors of society including government, the private sector and civil society.
“Policies, programmes and projects must be created and yes, we must not be afraid to initiate dialogue on difficult issues such as whether or not we should have quotas in certain areas to facilitate the desired aims,” Mrs. Griffin said.
“More opportunities must be provided for women to better support their families if there are to be positive changes to the economic status of local women. They must receive training in management, financing and enterprise development to increase their independence and ensure that they take advantage of savings opportunities to support economic empowerment.
“Further, women must be able to obtain and retain jobs in keeping with their qualifications and earn the same salary as their male counterparts in the same job (and) must have the capacity to make their own decisions regarding the use of their resources,” Mrs. Griffin added.
Held under the theme: “Empowering Women to Create, Manage and Protect Wealth”, one of the major objectives of the International Business Money Women Success Conference, 2013, was to empower women with the knowledge and skills they need to excel in their careers by
“Throughout the years, we have hosted countless events (and) continue to receive testimonials of how women’s lives have been transformed as a result of these events,” said Ms. Melisa A. Hall, a women’s empowerment guru and wealth coach who hosted the event.
“We are thrilled to know that the women in Corporate Bahamas were able to identify with the need to network with other women who have a desire to advance their careers or pursue their dreams as entrepreneurs.
“Due to these challenging times, we believe that it is vitally important for us to address the transition we are facing as a nation from a woman’s perspective,” Ms. Hall added.
Part proceeds from the Conference were donated to the Crisis Centre by donating part proceeds from this event to assist with the development of their new location.”
© Copyright 2013 by thebahamasweekly.com
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