MIAMI – The Jamaica/USA Chamber of Commerce in Florida (JAUSACC) joined in the global salute and acknowledgement of women and their achievements on Tuesday (March 8), in observance of International Women’s Day.
Several women turned out to participate in an informal reception themed “Women in Business”, at the Sheraton Airport Hotel in Dania. The agenda focused on topics of interest, allowing the women in attendance to interact informally.
Jamaica’s Consul General to the Southern USA, Sandra Grant Griffiths, in her capacity as honorary chair of the Chamber, told the audience that Jamaica’s theme for Women’s Day – “Education and Training: Decent Work for Women” formed the basis for the achievements of women, globally.
In order to move forward, she challenged the women to unite in support of each other, as they effectively accomplish self empowerment through education and training.
While she spoke of the Chamber’s efforts to establish links with Jamaica through annual scheduled events, the Consul General also encouraged the identification of projects, locally, which could be mutually beneficial.
Consul General Grant Griffiths acknowledged the efforts of the Jamaican Government in joining in the global salute. She highlighted the messages from the Prime Minster, the Hon. Bruce Golding, and the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture with responsibility for Women’s Affairs and Gender Issues, Hon. Olivia Grange. She also noted the PM’s mention of changes to the Sexual Offences Bill, which was approved in the Jamaican Parliament in 2009.
She spoke of other measures, mentioned by the Prime Minister, to protect women including a Sexual Harassment Policy and a National Gender Policy.
President of JAUSACC, Marie Gill, echoed the integral role played by women in development, highlighting the achievements of Jamaican women in their contributions, socially, culturally and economically in their respective communities, at home and across the Diaspora. The activities also included a fashion show, highlighting new trends for women.
This year marked the 100th year of the observance of International Women’s Day (IWD). Jamaica began to observe IWD in 1978, following the United Nations Declaration of 1975 as “International Women’s Year”.
