Dated: 3 January 2003
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Jasmine Coley, Managing Director
Orion Insurance Brokers Ltd. |
The women believe that more than ever the driving force in the modem economy remains entrepreneurship, and that entrepreneurs are meeting our economic needs through the creation of new businesses each year. “While larger corporations have instituted downsizing or outsourcing programmes, job creation and economic growth have become the domain of the new ventures and the entrepreneurs who create them,” said Audrey. Therefore, if small-to-medium-sized businesses, especially those owned and operated by women, are to make a meaningful contribution to the economy, she argued that it would be incumbent on policy makers, trainers and business advisers to pay attention to the factors impeding and fostering women entrepreneurship.
Despite going through the throes of being a developing nation, Jamaica no doubt has a very developed formal banking system. However, like elsewhere, our banks seem very reluctant to provide credit to micro-entrepreneurs, let alone to persons without collateral or guarantors, particularly women business owners,. The result is that a significant portion of Jamaican women does not have access to the formal banking sector or other financial services.
“ For example, if you have someone come into the market, created some 1,500 jobs in a matter of 10 years, don’t you think that counts for something?” Audrey asked. “Therefore, somebody must give you the necessary support.”
Concerning the economic potential and independence of women, Mrs. Hinchcliffe felt that the Government and other actors should promote an active and visible policy of mainstreaming a gender perspective in all policies and programmes so that before decisions are taken, an analysis is made of the effects on women and men respectively. Donna expressed the view that the potential or opportunities for women entrepreneurs largely depend on how they as women are socialized.
“As opposed to men, we are more open with our emotions, and there is indeed limited pressure on us to achieve in the way that the boys do,” she argued. “We don’t have to buy into how business is run traditionally, especially from the male perspective. As women, we have a kind of freedom to do business in a new way, and as a result, we are able to establish businesses based on values that deal with people in a more holistic way.
“As women entrepreneurs, we bring something to the table that was not there before. Unlike our male counterparts, we tend to have a people-focus-approach to doing business, and this certainly gives us an edge, particularly those who are in the service industry,” Donna emphasised.
“One of the greatest barriers to women becoming entrepreneurs is discrimination,” said Jasmine. According to her, a former employer told her that she would never gain access to any shares in the company all because “I was the wrong colour… I was the wrong sex… and I started from the bottom up.”
Suffice to say, Jasmines has proven that employer wrong, because today she is, indeed, a shareholder in the company.
In conclusion, the trio believes that a third of all new businesses are created by women, and this was particularly true for Jamaica, where women form an increasingly significant portion of the business sector, and which is the major source of new jobs. Yet, they argued, women continue to face barriers to entrepreneurial activity in comparison with men.
Therefore they noted that if Jamaica was to benefit fully from the female potential for job creation and economic growth, decision-makers at local, national and Caricom levels must agree to measures to ensure the best possible framework to support women’s entrepreneurship.
Delroy A. Whyte-Hall
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