By Feona Morrison
THROUGH focused initiatives led by the dynamic Director, Dr. Natasha Gaskin-Peters, the Centre for Local Business Development (CLBD) is achieving remarkable success in enabling women to seize opportunities in the oil and gas industry.

Gaskin-Peters, during a recent interview with Kiana Wilburg, the CEO of the Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo, emphasised that these initiatives are a crucial component of a broader scheme aimed at advancing gender equality and fostering greater local engagement in Guyana’s rapidly expanding energy sector.

As Guyana’s oil and gas sector experiences unprecedented growth, she explained that the CLBD’s programmes are crucial in addressing the need for skilled labour while ensuring that women are not left out of this economic boom.
She said: “Women are very important in our society.

We come from a traditional role when we think about our country and how we have evolved. But now, we have so many women that are on the job market. They are professionals. They are well-qualified. So, we are doing quite well as a country well when it comes to gender equality.”

“We know that women, for example, are the backbone and the helms of households. If we invest in women, then it means that we invest in our children, we invest in the education of our children. It has positive outcomes for education, for health. And so, it is very important that we continue as a nation to invest in our women because of the positive outcomes that it has.”

She provided assurance that the CLBD will persist in its support of the government’s initiatives and strategies targeting the training of women for employment. In this context, she brought attention to the AccelerateHer initiative of the centre, which offers an appealing prospect for Guyanese women to partake in business acceleration workshops and receive professional mentoring to foster the growth of their businesses.

“What we found that a lot of women are still in the support sector. Not a lot of them are involved in the technical areas. And so, we wanted to start helping those women to build their capacity in the sectors that they are in but also helping them to drive or to grow those businesses and move into some of those technical areas,” Gaskin-Peters pointed out.

She observed that a significant number of women encounter difficulties when it comes to confidence and public speaking. Nevertheless, the AccelerateHer programme aids in effectively pitching and marketing their businesses, thereby empowering them to assert themselves within the business community, as highlighted by the Director of CLBD.

The AccelerateHer programme is funded through the Greater Guyana Initiative, a project launched by Stabroek Block co-venturers – ExxonMobil, Hess and CNOOC. Dr. Gaskin-Peters has advised authorities to look to women to fill these gaps as well as import labour, since Guyana would need approximately 53,000 workers in the next five years to support rapid expansion in the oil and gas, construction, transportation and logistics, health, and agricultural sectors.

Moreover, the Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo has recently announced plans to advocate for greater representation of women in the oil and gas sector.
This decision comes as Guyana’s burgeoning oil reserves continue to attract significant investment and attention on the global stage. During a recent interview on EdYou-FM, Wilburg had emphasised the importance of empowering women in traditionally male-dominated fields.

“The oil and gas industry is heavily male dominated. And I think the voice of women, the perspectives that we have, it adds to the policy positions ensuring that the policies that do come out from the legislative branch are in our best interests,” she said.
In this regard, Wilburg said that she and the Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo are passionate about “women having a seat at the table”. “It’s not just about having us at the table and we just fill a position, but how our perspectives are incorporated into policy documents.

And I think that is going to be at the core of what we do, not just for 2024, but beyond.”
In order to accomplish its goals, the Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo intends to implement various initiatives focused on attracting, retaining, and promoting women in the oil and gas industry. The annual Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo serves as a platform for industry leaders, policymakers, and stakeholders to engage in discussions regarding the latest advancements, obstacles, and potential within the energy and supply chain domains.