AS the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) looks ahead to its next 50 years its leadership says it is paying closer attention to what effective representation should look like at the highest level of the organisation.

That reflection includes gender balance, an issue the organisation addressed publicly on Thursday during a press briefing to introduce its new president, Patrick Hylton.

The discussion arose as the PSOJ spoke about its governance, leadership structure and long-term direction, with Executive Director Sacha Vaccianna Riley acknowledging that gender balance remains an area in which the organisation is still evolving.

“As we reflect on our future — the next 50 years — these are questions we ourselves are considering. Change, especially important change like mindset shifts, often happens incrementally,” Riley said.

The PSOJ’s own history illustrates the challenge. Since the organisation was established in 1976 only two women have served as president — Avis Henriques, from 1981 to 1983, and Beverly Lopez, who held the role between 2003 and 2006. Men have occupied the position for the remainder of the organisation’s nearly five decades.

Riley said that record is closely tied to how leadership is selected. The PSOJ president is elected by a 51-member council drawn from across the organisation’s membership, including corporate members, associations, individual members and overseas affiliates. It is from that council a president is chosen.

“It is a democratic process,” she said, adding that outcomes often mirror wider leadership patterns in corporate Jamaica.

Rather than focusing solely on who occupies the presidency at any given time, Riley said the organisation has been paying closer attention to how leadership pipelines are developed and how voices are represented across its governance structures.

She pointed to efforts to ensure a more balanced mix on the PSOJ board, including gender and age diversity as well as programmes aimed at supporting women-led businesses through capacity-building and development support.

“Our focus is not about ticking a box,” Riley said. “It’s about ensuring that gender is properly represented in a meaningful and substantial way because we believe the voice of women in boardrooms and at the leadership level is important.”

That importance, she argued, extends beyond fairness and visibility. With women accounting for a significant share of managers and heads of households in Jamaica, Riley said gender representation has clear economic implications.

“It has a social aspect, but it certainly has an economic aspect which is non-negligible as well,” she said, pointing to the role women play in productivity, labour force participation, and business leadership.

While she did not outline specific targets or timelines for increasing female representation at the very top of the organisation, Riley said the issue is firmly on the PSOJ’s internal agenda as it plans for the decades ahead.

“Who knows,” she said. “The next president in our next 50 years may very well be a woman.”

The comments on representation came as the PSOJ outlined the direction of its new presidency under Patrick Hylton, who has said his focus will be on strengthening the organisation’s role as a disciplined advocate for growth, productivity and private sector development, particularly in the post-Melissa period.

At Thursday’s briefing Hylton spoke about the need for Jamaica to move beyond stability toward sustainable growth, arguing that progress would require reduced bureaucracy, greater productivity, and a clearer path for businesses to scale regionally and globally. He also signalled plans for deeper engagement with Government and other stakeholders on growth-oriented reform while maintaining the fiscal discipline that has underpinned recent economic gains.

— Karena Bennett