Guyana to host first-ever women’s expo in May

Guyana will soon launch and host the first-ever women’s exhibition aimed at showcasing the talents and achievements of women across the country.

The exposition, titled “Feminition”, is scheduled to be held at the National Stadium from May 27 to 29. It is being held in collaboration with the Human Services and Social Security Ministry and Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry, founder of the Women of Worth (WoW) loan scheme. The objectives of the expo are to showcase the talents, skills and professions of women; create employment ideas for women looking to start their own businesses; showcase the existing work of women’s groups; and stimulate the drive for women entrepreneurship in Guyana.

At a media launch held at the Convention Centre at Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds welcomed the initiative, stating that such events are needed to remind the public that women are a valuable asset to society. Declaring that he has long been a supporter of gender equality, Hinds explained that women and men are indeed equal. He emphasised that men and women must embrace this fact, and unite in order to make a difference in society. “We have a big job ahead of us to make this country unified, and we have a big challenge to develop the country materially. Men and women need to come together and pool their strengths to make society more whole, because there is a significant connection between those two things,” he said.

He went on to state that there are even instances when women excel ahead of men in certain areas, but this is not often admitted, due to the ‘macho’ thinking of males. Nevertheless, he said, the women’s exposition will help to remind people that women have potential and can aid in the development process.

Human Services Minister Priya Manickchand first lauded GBTI for the success of the WoW loans, and the opportunities that the WoW has since created for women who would otherwise have been unable to start their own businesses. She explained that, too often, because of the traditional roles of men and women placed in the minds of people, society is deprived of seeing the ‘beautiful side’ of women outside of those roles.

“Gender equality remains something that we are striving for, and something we have to achieve; and because of that, many bad things happen, particularly to what has been deemed to be the weaker gender – women,” she said. She added that this exhibition will give people a chance to see that beautiful side of women that is so often placed on the backburner. The minister then encouraged all interested women to come on board as soon as possible, so that they could get a chance to showcase their talents.

Head of credit of the GBTI, Shaleeza Shaw, expressed the bank’s contentment at being able to provide a facility such as the WoW loan to women. Since its launch in June 2010, Shaw proudly declared, the bank has received as many as 1111 applications (up to 12 applications daily). Of this amount, she explained, 781 loans, amounting to $154 million, have been approved. She explained that since the bank had allocated $500 million for this initiative, there is room for many more disbursals. Moreso, she said, since this sum is revolving, as customers continue to repay, more women will be able to access loans. Shaw stated that, currently, up to 10 women from the first batch of disbursals are expected to complete repaying their loans shortly.