FLOW Jamaica has joined the growing call for gender equality as the world continues to celebrate Women’s History Month.

Phadra Saunders – Director, People Business Partner at Flow making her presentation during the Jamaica Stock Exchange Ring the Bell for Gender Equality event on March 8.

The telecommunications firm reiterated its call at

the Jamaica Stock Exchange’s Bell Ringing Ceremony on March 8, which was

celebrated as International Women’s Day.

With the need for more women to enter leadership

positions at the fore, Flow’s director of people business partner, Phadra

Saunders, said the company has been working to create a more balanced and

inclusive workplace. She shared that seven of the company’s fourteen senior

leaders are women, four of whom serve in roles that are traditionally male

dominated.

Saunders continued, “As we champion EDI, we also

recognise that our people need different forms of support – whether it means

accessing additional time off to care for a newborn or to take care of family

matters. We’re here to support all our employees and this informs our journey.”

The company has played it part to support women and

promoting their empowerment, implementing a progressive Parental Leave Policy

(PLP), which provides eight weeks of paid leave is granted to employees (male

or female) following the birth of a child, placement of a child with an

employee through adoption or foster care, or birth of a child via gestational

surrogacy.

Olivia Grange (2nd left) – Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport rings the Bell to signal support for Gender Equality at The Jamaica Stock Exchange on March 8. She is joined by from left: Monique French – Chief Credit officer, CIBC First Caribbean; Phadra Saunders – Director, People Business Partner at Flow and Marlene Street Forrest – Managing Director at The Jamaica Stock Exchange.

Birth mothers are also provided with up to an

additional eight weeks of paid leave.

“We are especially proud that this is the first

policy of its kind in the telecommunications industry in the region,” said

Saunders.

For her part, Marlene Street Forrest, managing director

of the JSE, said special consideration must be given by employers to a woman

executing her functions in the COVID-19 environment.

“Given the current societal

disruption…there should be no age, no stage or boundaries to women’s right to

equality and no action should be too small or too large to ensure women are

given equal opportunities to excel,” Street Forrest shared.