‘Women of Kaieteur’ embraces IWD, and fearlessly

By Jasmaine Payne
IT IS fitting that among the focus for International Women’s Day would be the slogan, #BeBoldForChange, as this represents the ultimate goal for women of the 21st Century.

So says co-founder of Women of Kaieteur, Roianne Nedd, who is using her organisation’s platform to help women to achieve this goal as they continue to work toward breaking down the barriers to equality.

‘Women of Kaieteur’ is an organisation based in London and founded by Roianne and several other UK-based Guyanese, which aims to unite Guyanese women around the world so as to boost employment and enterprise.
The organisation is still reeling off from the success of its book, 50 Women: 50 Years, which was launched on February 25 and highlights the work of 50 influential women of Guyanese heritage, both in Guyana and abroad.

Now, ‘Women of Kaieteur’ has added to its portfolio an Online learning platform as part of its membership, which enables women to seek personal and professional development without interrupting the delicate balance of work and home life.
“Even in the most progressive societies, women still take on the majority of traditional roles, and are still expected to juggle those more pastoral responsibilities with the lure of a career and further education.

“At ‘Women of Kaieteur’, we recognise that change would only come from something different and through innovation; which is why we have launched an Online learning platform,” Roianne said.

TODAY’S WORLD
Looking at the world today, Roianne said that despite some advancement, one of the biggest inequalities that women still face globally is that of equal pay, and it is this issue that she believes needs to be addressed more than any other with regard to women’s rights.
“Why do women still earn less on the dollar than men? Statistically, women spend at least 70% of their income on the family and home compared to men, who spend approximately 40%, therefore helping women.

“So, earning equal amounts stands to benefit everyone,” Roianne said.
But the issue of domestic violence is also a burning issue on the charts. Guyana has been plagued with this social ill for years, but Roianne acknowledges that this is not the only country with alarming rates of violence against women and girls.
“It needs to stop! ‘Women of Kaieteur’ wants to not only empower women, but also educate and challenge the stereotypes and ways of thinking that make boys and men think that it is acceptable to hit girls and women.

“We want to disrupt the dysfunction and break the cycle!” she said.
Outside of planned advocacy initiatives in this area, ‘Women of Kiaeteur’ continues to contribute to the narrative of promoting women empowerment in other ways.
Apart from the launch of ‘50 Women:50 Years’, the organisation has also held engagements with the High Commissioner of Guyana in London, Mr Hamley Case to receive his support in promoting activities that engage the Diaspora to help empower women and girls in Guyana.

“We have launched the book donation drive to get at least one copy of our book into every secondary school in Guyana, and we have launched our membership proposition in the UK, welcoming both men and women from different cultures to be part of the change management process to unlock progression for Guyanese women and girls,” Roianne said.

A HUMBLING EXPERIENCE
The organisation’s co-founder said that the launch of its first book has been well received, and described it as a humbling experience, to see the impact that the book has had on women.
“Women who read the book have been so supportive and complimentary of each other, and have been so proud to be able to tell their stories.
“Some people have given negative feedback because of the fact we included “less positive” stories such as survivors of domestic abuse, but we felt it was important to represent all stories, especially since domestic violence is so prevalent in our society,” she said.

The aim of ‘50 Women:50 Years’ is to give rise to the voice of Guyanese women, since, at the time of compiling the information, the organisation felt not enough was being done to highlight the strong independent voices rallying for gender equality.
Seeing the response of this publication, ‘Women of Kaieteur’ is now embarking on another venture to produce a book with a similar aim. The next book, ‘60 Women; 60 Businesses’ will focus on the stories of 60 female business owners, and will promote the successes of these women as well as the benefits of entrepreneurship.

“As an entrepreneur myself and knowing many women running businesses of various sizes,” Roianne said, “I wanted to share their stories and words of advice with all the people who are thinking of starting their own business.”
The organisation has launched its application form on its website, womenofkaieteur.org and welcomes submissions from Guyanese businesswomen far and wide.
Roianne hopes that this upcoming book will also provide an automatic advertising opportunity, as the women will inevitably talk about their businesses.

In the coming months, Guyana will see more from the organisation through a planned conference in Georgetown, the aim of which is to highlight career paths and opportunities that women can embark on. Other planned initiatives include finding ways to provide health and fitness advice and information for women, as well as developing a workshop on how to use writing as a route to healing and self-love.