Women in Guyana have more opportunities now than ever – Min. Rodrigues
Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues believes that women in Guyana have more opportunities than ever before. She was speaking at the Woman Evolve Finance Meets Fashion event at the Marriott Hotel on Friday evening.
The event is a collaboration between RESYSCO and Sha Sha Designs that aims to inspire and empower women to succeed in business.
“Women have always dared to challenge the status quo, we just have to find the courage and today we are fortunate to be living in a period in our history where we have boundless opportunities, it’s up to us now to make the most of it, here in Guyana.
I believe that this is perhaps the best time to be a woman and Guyanese, we are living in one of the fastest growing economies in the world, opportunities are endless and we just have to find our niche, we just have to find what inspires us and we have to go after it,” Minister Rodrigues encouraged.
She said the government has created an enabling environment for women to thrive in business.
“Today in our society you see a lot of women in business, and that’s because as a government we have tried to foster a healthy business climate, we can’t run the business for you or bring the business to you, but we can ensure that the business climate is right for you to operate your businesses, and we can attract investors, and attract opportunities here for women to exploit,” the minister underscored.
The resilience shown by women throughout history and the struggles that they overcame were also highlighted.
“If we can appreciate our history and our struggle to get to this place where we are today, the suffragette movement, we now have the right to vote, to open a business, start a career, we can choose whether we want to be mothers or not.”
The minister also noted that it is important for women to be their sister’s keeper and once they become successful, to pay it forward.
“Some women think that if they have a company and a contract, the work is done, those are two very important elements, but you have to market yourself, you have to be able to have the right network, you have to be able to structure that portfolio in a way that people will jump to lend you money, you have to unlock that financing and how you package yourself and how you package your company is very, very important,” she implored.
The woman evolve training and networking programme aims to empower and support growing Guyanese businesses by providing professional accounting support services, promoting good business practices and enhanced financial decision making.