Women of Power

Dated: 3 January 2003

Donna Duncan-Scott, C.E.O. Jamaica Money Market Brokers Limited

In spite of the potential and opportunities, women continue to face barriers and constraints to enterpreneurship. Globally, it is believed that women create a third of all new businesses. This is true for many Caribbean member states, and particularly Jamaica, where women are forming an increasingly significant portion of the business sector, which is the major source of new jobs. Yet, women continue to face barriers and constraints to entrepreneurial activity in comparison with men.

Getting to the heart of the matter, Businessuite spoke to three of the nation’s top women entrepreneurs – Audrey Hinchcliffe, CEO, Manpower & Maintenances Services Ltd., Donna Duncan-Scott, CEO, Jamaica Money Market Brokers and Jasmine Coley, Managing Director, Orion Insurance Brokers Ltd - and asked them following question:

What do you see as the potential and opportunities, as well as the barriers and constraints, relating to women’s entrepreneurship development in Jamaica?

Coming out of the discussions, these brave women, without fear or favour, pointed out the following as some of the barriers and constraints to their being entrepreneurs:

- Lack of supporting environment for women entrepreneurs
- Limited access to credit
- Discrimination, and perception that women do not fit into the corporateculture

Where potential and opportunities were concerned, they all felt firstly that if Jamaica is to benefit fully from the female potential for job creation and economic growth, decision-makers at local, national and Caricom levels must agree on measures to ensure the best possible framework to support women’s entrepreneurship.

Secondly, they also pointed to the enormous business opportunities out there for women entrepreneurs… be it start-up or expansion. The three women – Audrey, Donna and Jasmine – believe that, even though it seems there are considerable differences in women's access and opportunities to exert power over economic structures in this society, they were noticeably absent from or are poorly represented in economic decision-making, including the formulation of financial, monetary, commercial and other economic policies.

The trio also raised the point that successful women tend to be "invisible" in the society. Except for a few very high-profile women who "made it" in business or in top managerial positions, there is little coverage of women's successes in business and public life (e.g. in the mass media, specialised press or public debates). They agreed that publicity around high-flyers, instead of promoting women's entrepreneurship, often had the opposite effect, that of intimidating women, and reinforcing lack of self-confidence ("this is not for me, I can't attain this level").

Lack of supporting environment for women entrepreneurs

The trio felt that women entrepreneurs, especially those starting new ventures, are frequently hindered by a lack of supporting environment. This lack, they said, often resulted in the isolation of women in small-to-medium-sized businesse, across all sections of the society.

Jasmine, who heads the seven-year-old Orion Insurance Brokers Limited, located at 40 Duke Street in downtown Kingston, believes that women entrepreneurs are making significant strides in the market place. Most successful businesswomen, she says, can tell of the struggles and the tremendous challenges they face in trying to operate and stay profitable in the marketplace.

Environmental support, like the ability to network as the “old-boys-network” does, isn’t an automatic for women, and according to Jasmine, most networking facilities are mainly controlled by men, which in itself limits the number of women who were able to tap into such resources.

Despite that perceived lack, Jasmine argues that, “as women we need to know that God placed all resources in us that we need to become successful. Barriers can either stop us or we can break them down.”

If women want to become entrepreneurs and network like the boys, she felt that they too can tap into existing facilities or create their own, as recently seen in the establishing of the all-female trade group, Women Business Owners. “If we really want to, we can find the resources available and not be intimidated by existing structures,” she said.

Limited access to credit

Concerning their limited access to credit, the women believe that banks must ensure that neither their staff, nor their policies, discriminates against women.

“Even though most of our businesses often do not fit the traditional pattern, most are perfectly viable, provide an income for the woman and her family, and contribute to local economic development,” argued Audrey, who commands a 1,500-stong work-force with head offices at 14 Collins Green Avenue in Kingston 5. She believes banks and other founders should give greater recognition to women entrepreneurs.

Supporting Audrey’s argument, Jasmine said “whilst it is easy to access loans for motor vehicles and houses, there is tremendous resistance to providing loans for business purposes, which gives the impression that women are not good fund managers. I am glad that companies like JMMB and Paymaster have proven otherwise.” She also believes that there should be “funds available either through the banks or credit unions to help women with good business ideas but need financing.”

Donna Duncan-Scott, who heads the largest brokerage house in Jamaica and now manages over J$20 billion in client funds, through their money market funds and trading and is located at 8 Haughton Terrace in Kingston 10, agrees with her colleagues in believing that banks and other financial institutions should give greater recognition to women entrepreneurs. “They very often successfully run a home as well as a fledgling new business,” she said.