MANDEVILLE, Manchester – Over 100 women from various sectors, including banking, education, and commerce, benefited from motivational speakers and networking on International Women’s Day at the fifth staging of the Made in Manchester Women’s Summit.

Event conceptualiser Annette Salmon said the event, which was held at the Ingleside Badminton Club, was formed from the renowned Made in Manchester Expo.

“The expo has been going on for nine years. This is our fifth year for the summit, so out of the expo women coming together thought that we wanted to meet in a different fashion, in a way that we could bond and get together, encourage each other and be of some inspiration to one another and acknowledge the day itself,” she said in reference to International Women’s Day.

She added that the event was inclusive to women and girls as part of the day’s celebration.

“We have women from banking, education. People who are entrepreneurs. The business community is here in a heavy way. We have Government organisations like the Ministry of Education and the National Housing Trust who are represented here. The theme for this year is to inspire inclusion, so all of these groups of women from various organisations and institutions are a great mix. Every kind of woman is represented here,” said Salmon.

She said the inclusion of girls from five high schools was vital to this year’s staging of the summit.

“We had 12 young ladies from five high schools in Manchester and St Elizabeth. The cost of them attending the event was covered by the Barita Foundation. The schools were Bishop Gibson High School for Girls, Roger Clarke High, Manchester High, Bellefield High, and Porus High,” she said.

“Those 12 young ladies benefited as they were with gift baskets from Best Dressed Chicken as well bags from Lasco distributors. These companies are investing in the next generation,” added Salmon.

Among the guest speakers at the event were Sheila Segree-White, vice-president of human resources at Scotiabank, Jamaica; Trisha Williams-Singh, chairman of the Early Childhood Commission; and Tanya Powell, leadership and personal development coach.

Segree-White, who was the keynote speaker, told her audience that mentorship is crucial for women.

“When you have a mentor, don’t wait for them to reach out to you. I mentor a lot of young people in the workplace and outside the workplace, because it is just something I am passionate about,” she said.

“Many of them have approached me and asked for mentorship, but not everybody is ready to be mentored. They don’t want to hear what you are saying to them, because they are now saying, ‘I need an easy way to achieve my goals.’ There is no easy way, if you want to reach where you want to reach in life it takes effort,” added Segree-White.

She also encouraged women to reward themselves and have faith in their development.

Salmon commended the sponsors of the event.

“… Because it is so much needed in the rural parishes. I am really grateful with how it has turned out. I want to implore more people to support events in rural Jamaica. I must thank the sponsors who came on board, including Barita Foundation, Best Dressed Chicken, HoneyBun, Digify TV, and 2020 Strategies,” she said.