The Honourable Mia Amor Mottley, QC, MP, Prime Minister of Barbados, will join with leading executives, entrepreneurs and other speakers for this year’s UWI-Arthur Lok Jack Global School of Business (ALJGSB) Women in Leadership Conference. With the theme, Women Challenging and Changing the World, this edition will take place on 9th July 2021 via an online platform.

The Women in Leadership Conference was created to address the advancement of women in both the private and public sectors in the Caribbean and Latin American regions and to provide a space and opportunity for like-minded individuals to share knowledge, insights, experiences, challenges and practices that work in the field of leadership. The conference series recognises that women are becoming better represented in the workforce but that significant challenges remain for women at all levels in our societies.

National communications solutions provider, bmobile, is collaborating with the Lok Jack GSB and other sponsors (Proman Limited and Heartbeat radio 104.1) to make this year’s Conference possible. Lisa Agard, Chief Executive Officer at TSTT (and the first woman confirmed in this role), noted her commitment to continuing the conversation regarding women in Caribbean and Latin American societies. “Women have long been the societal and emotional center for many homes and families across the region. Recently, with expanded access to educational opportunities, we have seen women excel in the boardrooms and in areas of decision-making that will go a long way to bring other viewpoints to the table. It is easy to forget that as little as a generation ago, this was not the norm. Our commitment to this initiative is echoed by our own internal commitments to fair employment and promotion practices but also to ensuring that all voices are represented in the way we work every day,” she detailed. Agard was named CEO of TSTT on 24th May 2021, having worked for the company in various divisions for several years and in the telecommunications industry for over twenty-three years.

According to Director of Executive Education at the ALJGSB, Jo-Anne Boodoosingh, the recent blurred boundaries between personal and professional life, company and family responsibilities, business and personal survival, demanded that leaders step up and step forward in unprecedented



ways. “With this in mind the ALJGSB, through our networks and relationships sought to access a calibre of speakers who have been living the theme of the conference not just during the pandemic but prior to it. A conference like this one, especially in a virtual setting; working different time zones, speaker schedules, technologies and teams is not an easy one to plan and execute. However, our team was able to seek out speakers and contributors who can guide and inspire our attendees to really challenge and change the world,” Boodoosingh elaborated.

Other speakers carded for the conference include Ingrid Riley, Digital Media Entrepreneur, Caribbean Tech Maven, Award-Winning Tech Blogger, Helen Gordon, Chief Executive, Science Council, UK, John Mark Williams, CEO, Institute of Leadership and Management, UK, Ingrid Lashley, Chairman, Bourse Securities Group and National Enterprises Limited and Eva Mitchell, CEO of Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange Limited.

The Women in Leadership Series has been in existence for over ten years and continues to offer practical and valuable approaches regarding the role of women in the workforce that companies and attendees can immediately put to use in their strategic plans. Speakers and attendees are male and female leaders and executives in companies of all sizes. “Without giving too much away,” Boodoosingh noted, “I would say there are advantages to being a female leader in today’s tumultuous world. Once understood and put into practice in a meaningful way, this can lead to higher levels of success for persons and the companies they work within.”

This continuing conference series aims to further that conversation.

Participants can access more information and register at www.gsbwiltt.com