Women’s Empowerment Expo May 5 to 6

A national exposition and career fair, which will focus on the empowerment of women, will be held at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston this weekend.

The two-day event, from May 5 to 6, is being organised by the Bureau of Women’s Affairs (BWA) in collaboration with the Dispute Resolution Foundation, with support from the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (UN Women).

Research Coordinator at the BWA, Sharon Robinson, told JIS that it is critical for women to be provided with increased access to economic and political opportunities, especially at this time, when the country is celebrating 50 years of Independence.

She noted that the BWA had been lobbying in this regard.

The expo, which will involve participation from several entities and organisations, will facilitate greater public awareness on a range of gender sensitive and gender-related issues.

It will involve workshops, career development presentations, and entertainment from some of Jamaica’s multi-talented performers.

A range of Jamaican products and services will be showcased, and opportunity provided for investors and job seekers.  “We intend to attract entrepreneurs, who will be able to provide, through a booth, opportunities for potential employees and persons, who want to enter into investment opportunities or small businesses,” Mrs. Robinson told JIS News.

Additionally, she said, a segment of the expo will focus on women, who have succeeded despite the challenges.  “We want this to be a motivational piece, so that persons attending the event will be inspired. The entire thing is about empowerment and we are trying to do that in a number of ways,” Mrs. Robinson said.

She noted that the expo will not only benefit women, as there will be areas that will interest both genders such as auto-mechanics, agri-business, information technology, business and finance.

Some of the booth holders that will be showcasing their products and providing information on the services they offer will include: Soft Sheen-Carson, Sagicor, Programme of Advancement through Health and Education (PATH), and the Registrar General’s Department (RGD).

By E. Hartman Reckord, JIS PRO