Breaking the Glass Ceiling in observance of International Women’s Day

By Dillon Goring
AS International Women’s Day is being observed on March 8, women the world over have been at the cutting edge and breaking the glass ceiling on the stage of social status, economic development and academic achievements.

Guyanese Women aren’t being left out in this monumental, but great achievement.
Wendy Hermonstine, a local Guyanese author, has been one of those persons, who has broken the ceiling and has written a book titled, “A Compilation of Daily Reminders”, which speaks to the enhancement of one’s spirituality, thus motivation being the catapults for the day ahead.

At a recent launch, several persons lauded the achievements of Hermonstine for such a bold but great step in this direction.
Well-known fashion designer and fellow author Dr Sonia Noel told the audience present that someone is waiting to read your story to be inspired because everyone has a story.
Noel also assured the audience that within the next six to 12 months, Guyanese can expect to see so many first-time authors after her workshop for creative writers and authors.
Noel said, “She is so blessed to assist people to write and publish their books, because of her language of multiplication and addition.”

Hermonstine in brief remarks said that she feels so inspired to push someone to their destiny.
“What is gratifying along this journey is the fact that after you would have moulded, you would have counselled and you would have averted disastrous situations and people come back to you smiling, you recognise that you are not on this earth plane by chance, but God has put each and every one of us here for a purpose,” she testified.

Hermonstine recalled that she knew that she always wanted to write, but thought that writing was set aside for special people, but with constant persistence from Dr Sonia Noel, she attended a writers’ workshop to achieve her goal.

Hermonstine assured that life isn’t static or stationary, but the onus is on us all to decide where we want to be and to put systems in place to achieve our goals.
“In order to achieve our goal, we must adopt the ‘I can, I must, and I will’ attitude,” she said.
Hermonstine encouraged the audience to surround themselves with positivity and you will get to the tape faster.
In response to a question posed by Pepperpot Magazine regarding the importance of raising the voice of women authors
Hermonstine responded with the following:

“ ‘If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, you must be the one to write it ’ -Toni Morrison. Female authors have been blazing trails for ages. These incredible women don’t hesitate to tell their stories, to write about what is happening or what has happened in their lives. Many of these stories are uniquely empowering, motivational, fictional, spiritual, romantic, relationship, love, instructional and the list continues. More recently there has been an emergence of female writers.

I strongly believe that in each woman there are many stories which need to be told and those who have not started should commence writing. As we celebrate hard-working and dedicated women in their own right, let us take some time to read a publication written by powerful women. Some of these include Michelle Obama – Becoming; Arundhati Roy who won the Man Booker Prize in 1997 for her book the gorgeous, lyrical The God of Small Things; J.K Rowling a popular British author who created the popular and critically acclaimed Harry Potter series between 1997 and 2007. [These are] a minute example of women rising to the occasion. I think the recent rise in book publishing is due to the availability to self-publish. People are also becoming aware that their stories matter.

For years, people with good manuscripts heard NO from publishing houses and now they can publish and have the rights to their content. Right here in Guyana, I was privileged to attend the first virtual writers’ retreat which opened my eyes to many options in this industry other than writing. It was the most amazing weekend ever! The presenters were Claudia Vidal, a holistic and integrative Psychotherapist, Trainer and Developmental, Social Motivator Consultant and bestselling author, Richard Young, a Fashion Guru extraordinaire, editor and creative genius. Along with Dr Sonia Noel, an extraordinary international fashion designer by profession, bestselling author had a tremendous impact on participants drawn from 11 different countries, including Africa. The facilitators were able to inspire, motivate, educate, empower, and prod attendees to talk about and write compelling stories that could impact the world.

Other aspects of the interactive sessions dealt with mindfulness and how the right atmosphere and mindset can significantly make a difference in one’s life. Introduction to self-publishing, marketing ideas, self-confidence, and how to become a change-maker were all compacted into that one weekend.

By the end of the workshop, my hidden talents had come to the fore. I never knew I was such a good storyteller. Also, I discussed elements of what my first book will be based on, which participants well received. We were all encouraged to start writing our first book. I doubted myself, thinking that I did not understand what it takes to become an author, but I proved myself wrong. With the constant banging and motivation by Dr Sonia Noel, I started to write, I was given deadlines, and almost every day Dr Noel would call to find out how I was getting through and advised on any challenge I may have had. Today I can smile with joy even as I express thankfulness to God for guiding me through the process of becoming an author. My first inspirational book was published in November 2020 on Amazon — “A Compilation of Daily Reminders.” It is available on Amazon in both kindle and hard copy. The book can also be obtained at Austin’s Book Store in Georgetown or [from] myself.”

This year’s theme celebrates the tremendous efforts by women and girls around the world in shaping a more equal future and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is also aligned with the priority theme of the 65th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, “making”, and the flagship Generation Equality campaign, which calls for women’s right to decision-making in all areas of life, equal pay, equal sharing of unpaid care and domestic work, an end to all forms of violence against women and girls, and health-care services that respond to their needs.

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