Good morning, everyone.

I have delivered many speeches, but this is the one that truly makes me nervous. I think I’m an ally—or at least, I want to be. But I’m also very conscious of the fact that there are things I don’t know, and I worry about saying or doing something that, while intended to help, might not actually be helpful. And, of course, I also suffer from "foot-in-mouth" disease in general. So, this is a tough one—but let me try.

It is truly an honor and a privilege to stand here today as the CEO of AMCHAM T&T at our 11th Women’s Leadership Conference.

This event has become a cornerstone of our collective effort to foster meaningful dialogue, inspire change, and "Accelerate Action"—which is our theme this year—toward ensuring true gender equality in our society and workplaces.

I want to take a moment to express my sincere gratitude to each of you—our dedicated participants, esteemed speakers, corporate partners, and supporters—who continue to lend their voices, resources, and unwavering commitment to this cause. Your presence here today is a testament to the fact that gender equality is not just a women’s issue; it is a societal and economic imperative that requires the active participation of everyone—men and women alike.

A special acknowledgment to our sponsors, and in particular, Scotiabank and Cindy, who have been with us from the very beginning. Their unwavering support has never faltered, and they continue to stand by us in so many different ways. You’ll also get to hear from Tricia, who will deliver the Sponsor Remarks shortly.

At AMCHAM T&T, we believe that the pursuit of a world where gender equality and equity are not just ideals but lived realities is both a moral responsibility and a strategic necessity. Our vision is one where every woman—regardless of her background, industry, geographic location, or how she defines herself—has the freedom, support, and opportunity to fulfill her ambitions without barriers, bias, roadblocks, or limitations.

Over the past decade, we have worked diligently to embed this vision into the very fabric of our organization. From our Board of Directors, where seven of our 14 board members are women, to the committees we lead, we have demonstrated that gender parity is achievable. I’d like to take a moment to recognize and salute our incredible female board members:

• Giselle Thompson – Director & Vice President
• Anna Henderson – Director & Vice President
• Tricia De La Rosa-Camacho – Director
• Natasha Ashby – Director
• Griselle Smith – Director
• Michelle Belgrave – Director
• Frances Bain-Cumberbatch – Director

I encourage you to look them up—visit our website, check out their LinkedIn profiles, and recognize their contributions. Never let anyone tell you that the reason their board lacks parity is because they "can’t find competent, qualified, and experienced women." That’s rubbish. We have been achieving this at AMCHAM T&T for seven to eight years, and in fact, we often find ourselves with more women than men in leadership—and it has only strengthened us.

Four of our seven committees are chaired by women, including our ESG Committee, led by Indu. I'm not sure if our other female committee leaders are here, but this is again a testament to the fact that we are trying and working very hard to dismantle the barriers within the leadership and within the organization that is AMCHAM T&T. 

This is not about holding an event just for the sake of it—this is about embedding equity into our very culture. This is part of our fabric. 200 women have passed through our mentorship program that we do with the IDB since its inception about eight years ago, and we continue that this year, and we'll be opening a new cohort soon.

Beyond AMCHAM T&T, however, this must be the mission of every organization. Scotiabank is ahead of most in this regard, and I’m sure you’ll hear more about that today. But we need more and more companies to take intentional steps. True progress does not happen in silos—it requires our collective and deliberate action. It requires international policies and a shift in mindset and actions, ensuring that gender equality is not merely a checkbox but a fundamental pillar of how we operate.

That is why today’s conference is more than just a gathering—it is a call to action. So, the real question is: Do we accept this call to action?

We come here to discuss, network, and share ideas—but what do we go back and do? 
While International Women’s Day may give us a moment to reflect and celebrate progress, our commitment to empowering women must extend far beyond a single day on the calendar. It must be something we do every day!

We must accelerate action toward gender equity in our society through the policies we implement, the cultures we cultivate, the opportunities we create, and the biases we actively work to dismantle.

When we take these steps, we’re not just marking time—we’re making change. Each of us here today has a role to play in Accelerating Action – accelerating that change.

While this is a Women's Leadership Conference, and thus has a gender specific connotation, it is important to remember that at its core, this is a leadership conference. And I want to take a moment to salute the leaders in AMCHAM T&T’s Secretariat. This conference wouldn't happen today without Kennedy Maraj, not just because this is his job. Kennedy as a leader in the LGBTQ community who sees discrimination and fighting discrimination as a core part of who he is and what we are and so he brings that energy, that effort, that passion, to these types of events, and ensures that he keeps pushing us at AMCHAM T&T to do better and to do more. So, I want to salute Kennedy for that and thank him. 

I also want to thank my colleague, Melissa Pierre and recognize what she does to make sure that youth and women, especially young girls, are involved in everything that we do, taking her work in HSSE to the schools, bringing schools to our HSSE conference, and now volunteering and doing mentorship at the Success Laventille High School, having done that previously at the Russell Latapy Secondary School. 

That is what leadership is, and that is how we simply, very simply but effectively, bring efforts together to dismantle the barriers that would prevent leadership by creating opportunities for empowerment and exposure. So, I want to salute Melissa Pierre for what she's doing. 

Yet, we know that leadership opportunities for women remain unequal. Women continue to be underrepresented in executive roles, in political offices, and decision-making positions - not due to a lack of capability, but because the systems in place have not evolved to support equitable advancement. 

That is why this conference is so important. It's not just about empowering individual women. It's about changing the leadership landscape itself. It's about ensuring that women's leadership is recognized, valued, and integrated into every level of society and business and that we dismantle the systemic barriers, peel off the blinkers of unconscious bias and rip down the curtains that hide conscious bias and allow the people who are consciously acting in biased ways to hide and pretend as though nothing is wrong. 

So, when we talk about accelerating action on women’s empowerment in Trinidad and Tobago and gender equality in Trinidad and Tobago, it's not just a conversation about fairness or equality. It's a conversation about the very future of our society, the strength of our nation, and unlocking the true potential of us as a people.

As a nation, we've made significant strides toward achieving gender equality, and that's something of which we should all be proud. But despite the progress we've made, it's clear that much work remains. We cannot claim to have achieved equality when women continue to face unequal opportunities in the workforce, unfair or misaligned wages or underpaid for the same jobs as men, and lack of career advancement through systemic barriers. We cannot. We simply cannot. 

This is precisely where support for women entrepreneurs and the creation of a more inclusive economy come into play. When we enable women to contribute and to benefit from economic growth, in fact, to drive economic growth, we set the stage for a more equitable future for everyone.

However, achieving gender equality is not just about economic opportunities. It's also about safety and security. Every day we are confronted with heartbreaking reports of domestic violence, sexual assault and harassment. These incidents serve as stark reminders that we have not yet created a society where women feel safe. We cannot talk about equality until we really tackle gender based violence head on. 

While the public sector, advocacy groups and individuals each play a vital role in addressing gender based violence, the private sector has a social responsibility to contribute even more to this fight. And I'm saying even more because I'm acknowledging that there's a lot of work already being done by the private sector. I believe this begins with the workplace culture that shapes our organizations. If our workplaces are not conducive to equality, respect, fairness and freedom, and if they lack policies to protect employees from harassment and abuse, we cannot be surprised when these extend outside the workplace.

The policies, the standards, the culture that we create and that we implement and most importantly, enforce, should serve as models for broader societal change. By establishing these policies, clear reporting channels, strong support systems, opportunities for complaints to be heard and treated fairly, organizations can help shift attitudes and behaviors, fostering a culture of empowerment, respect, and safety. 

Meanwhile, reducing gender inequality, which is both a cause and a consequence of gender-based violence, can also be achieved by fostering diverse and inclusive work environments. These spaces help to break down barriers and challenge the social norms that perpetuate violence. 

But it's also important that we also look at the role of men and boys in advancing gender equality. Men and boys must be actively engaged, and I'll admit maybe this is an area where we can do more to ensure that we are promoting education, challenging bad behaviors, and getting our men and boys to rethink the whole idea of manhood and respect. 

Empowering women benefits everyone. And it is only through collaboration with men and boys that we will achieve lasting change, and I hope that we're able to do even more of this in the future.

Before I conclude, I want to reaffirm AMCHAM T&T’s commitment to the principles of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Recently, we've seen around the world troubling movements where the principles of DEI are under threat. We don't mind whatever you call it. Some companies have started rolling back their DEI initiatives, and the consequences will be clear in the short term. 

As a business chamber representing more than 300 companies in Trinidad and Tobago, we remain fully committed to ensuring in our organization and advocating for in other organizations, safe, inclusive and equitable workplaces for all employees, regardless of background. Our commitment to a merit-based approach in hiring, training, leadership, development and other things will never, ever waiver. We must operate on the principles of fairness, inclusivity and transparency. 

The true essence of DEI is really simple to us. It's about giving every deserving person an equal opportunity and finding out if there are barriers that prevent that from happening, and dismantling them. When we focus on the best talent and the most qualified individuals, it doesn't matter what they look like, who they love, where they live, where they worship, what they worship. At the end of the day, it's about finding the best people for the job, and that's something we think every leader can get behind.

As we welcome the talented speakers joining us later today, let's take the lessons we learn to our workplaces and commit to Accelerating Action on securing gender equity in every aspect of our society.

And on the topic of making our society more respectful to women and girls, I'm happy to announce that AMCHAM T&T is formally endorsing the “Respect Her Game” Initiative. The “Respect Her Game” initiative is something that was founded by Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Gender & Development Studies, Dr. Gabrielle Hosein, who spoke with this conference before and with Guardian media, one of our partners here today as the media partner. 

In summary, what it does is it says that at sports events, especially those in which females are participating, the music that is played to pump up the crowd should not be demeaning and disrespectful to women, because there are adequate playlists that are both empowering and uplifting. And I think that's a very small, simple step that we can action to make the environment for our female athletes of all ages more conducive to their achieving their true potential. 

So finally, thank you all for allowing me all this time to speak, and thank you to all the dynamic, powerful and inspiring women here today. Let's also acknowledge the men who are here to support and champion their success. I think this year, we have close to 50 men who registered, which is probably the largest. We will continue our advocacy and our support. 

Thank you, everyone. I look forward to a really exciting event and Happy belated International Women's Day. I hope you enjoy it as much as I will.

END.