PRESIDENT of the Jamaica Association of Women Judges, Justice Carol Edwards, is encouraging young girls to find the right mentors who will help them achieve success.

Edwards was speaking at a We Inspire Women and Girls Gold Standard Luncheon on the topic:’The Gold Standard for Girls to Become Women of Positive Impact in a Broken Society’ at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel on Tuesday.

We Inspire Women and Girls is a high-level mentorship programme operated by founder and CEO Cortia Bingham McKenzie, which seeks to uplift and empower women and girls in maintaining excellence.

The programme positively impacts the inner conversations of high school girls across the island through motivational speeches from influential and inspirational women, who are introduced to the girls on various school tours.

Stressing the importance of young girls empowering themselves by seeking help, Edwards posed the question, “Are your role models women whose leadership can inspire and motivate confidence in you?”

“That’s what you have to ask yourself… You need mentors who can provide invaluable guidance and support to empower you to meet your ultimate goal. Everyone needs inspiration…People will tell you don’t follow friends, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. If your friend is doing something great and is a model to follow, follow it, ” she said.

She added: “Most of us are females; we feel powerless over our destiny, powerless to make decisions which will impact our lives positively. Empowerment is the expansion of your ability to shape your own destiny and make your own choices by accessing the necessary resources [and] defining your own goals and objectives and achieving your outcome.”

Additionally, Edwards stressed why the programme is needed for Jamaican youngsters.

“I think it is extremely important because it exposes them to professional women to whom they can look for inspiration. It also provides an avenue for guidance, support, mentorship, so that they can know that they are not on their own; they have role models that they can follow,” she told Career & Education.

Adding that women and girls are often the first victims of unequal treatment and injustice, Edwards stated that it is important for them to believe they have a voice, and to use it fearlessly.

She further advised young women to set goals, and have plans that will help them achieve success.

“If you have no goal, no plan, no objective, you will be wandering in the wilderness. You have to develop a road map of where you want to go. It doesn’t have to be a five-year plan, it doesn’t have to be a two-year plan, it doesn’t even have to be a one-year plan, just have a plan,” Edwards stated.

Meanwhile, 17-year-old Nickanya Brown, a grade 12 student at St Jago High School in St Catherine, expressed gratitude for the programme, which she says has inspirational women serving as guides for young girls in the country.

“The programme is very important to me because as a young woman growing up, just to have support systems in Jamaica, it’s really inspirational and it pushes me to grow. Right now, I am trying to do my best and it’s just really great to have a guiding light and to see so many powerful women achieving so much, it makes me feel like I can become someone great too,” she said.

Added 18-year-old Holy Childhood High School student Christine Dewar: “I really admire these women. They have backgrounds that weren’t the best in their time. Their stories have become their glory, nobody saw their struggles. They have so many words of encouragement. I love this programme because it goes to show that no matter where you are coming from, you can be great.”

At the same time, grade 11 student at Immaculate Conception High School, Jahnya Mundel, said the sessions were fun.

“It is inspiring and a lot of fun. It was also an eye-opener seeing these incredibly strong women coming from so little to so much,” she said.