The Tribune

RBC Royal Bank celebrated International Women’s Day with a series of events.

These included a donation to the Women’s Crisis Centre; RBC staff wearing the colours white, green and purple in support of IWD; and a feature exhibition at Royal Bank main branch entitled “Outstanding Women of the Bahamas”.

The exhibition features 40 women who have made significant contributions to the growth and development of the Bahamas over the last 40 years.

These remarkable women come from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines including sports, finance, politics, education and agriculture.

The central point of the exhibition features five of the key figures of the Suffrage Movement in the Bahamas: Mary Ingraham, Mabel Walker, Eugenia Lockhart, Georgiana Symonette and Dame Dr Doris Johnson.

During the launch of the exhibition on March 7, RBC hosted a mentoring event for 40 girls from CR Walker and CV Bethel Senior High Schools.

The girls were given a tour of the exhibition, after which they were transported to the RBC Royal Bank House where they talked with female executives at RBC and were hosted to lunch.

Several RBC managers spoke to the girls about the role of motivation in achieving personal and professional goals.

The keynote speaker was Tanya McCartney, managing director of RBC Finco.

She encouraged them to work hard and focus on their education.

“The value of hard work and education cannot be underestimated. Believe in yourself, it is up to you to continue to march forward and achieve your goals, Ms McCartney said.

“RBC felt it was important to include the younger generation in our International Women’s Day celebrations,” said Jan Knowles, RBC manager for public relations.

“Young girls must learn about these outstanding women and their impact on every sphere of the Bahamian community. Through this process the next generation of women will be inspired to achieve greatness and contribute to the positive development of our country.”

At the culmination of the event, each girl was presented with a rose.

Bradeisha Babbs, a 10th grade student at CV Bethel High, said she enjoyed the day and was grateful to RBC for having her.

“Seeing all the Bahamian women who made it gives us hope that we can do something big,” she said.

International Women’s Day (IWD), is an important celebration of the economic, political and social achievements of women worldwide.

IWD has been observed since the early 1900s and in 1977, the United Nations General Assembly designated March 8 as International Women’s Day.

“A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women” is the official UN theme for International Women’s Day 2013.