Women empowerment key at Guyana’s first female-owned insurance brokerage

RNS Insurance Brokers and Consultants, Guyana’s first female owned insurance brokerage has adopted the United Nations (UN) Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP’s) as part of its commitment to promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community.

Ramona Singh, General Manager RNS Insurance Brokers and Consultants signed the principles on the 5th December 2022 and was congratulated by UN Women Executive Director, Sima Bahous.

Mrs. Singh said: “We are delighted to sign up to these principles and will be implementing them with concrete actions and organizational policies geared to empower the women in our workplace and community. To begin, we are joining other WEPs Signatories in Guyana in implementing a Domestic Violence Workplace Policy to help reduce the overall incidence of this issue nationally, As a growing company, we will also work with our vendors and suppliers in encouraging them to embrace Gender Equality as part of their corporate goals.”

“We congratulate RNS Insurance Brokers and Consultants for taking the first step on their WEPs journey. We consider RNS Insurance Brokers and Consultants a key partner in closing gender gaps in the workplace, marketplace and community ad in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS).” Sima Bahous, UN Women Executive Director.

RNS Insurance Brokers was also acknowledged for their commitment by the Executive Director of UN Global Compact, another lead partner in the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs).

“For over a decade, the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) have helped companies accelerate gender equality and advance women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community. With women representing half of the world’s population yet remaining under-represented in business, the WEPs provide the necessary roadmap to break down barriers to women economic empowerment. I welcome you to this growing community of Signatories and thank you for using the WEPs as a guide on your journey to sustainability, to lead and shape the path towards a more equitable world where women and girls thrive.” Sandia Ojambo, UN Global Compact Executive Director.

Mrs Singh continued, “With one of the themes for International Women’s Day 2023 being #EmbraceEquity, we felt today was opportune to announce our participation in the UN Women’s programme as a Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) Signatory. I have, personally, always been an advocate for a level playing field so all women and men can do well and as the founder of my company, I intend to grow and expand with these Principles as guidelines as we drive profitable and sustainable growth.”

RNS Insurance Brokers and Consultants joins the cadre of other WEPs Signatories in Guyana, which include Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI), Cerulean Inc, Nations School of Business, Caribbean Container Inc, Denmor Garments amongst others. UN Women introduced these companies to the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) under The Spotlight Initiative in Guyana, which is being implemented in partnership with the European Union. The Spotlight Initiative (SI) is a global, multi-year initiative focused on eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG). This project within Spotlight leverages the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) to support the private sector in reducing and eventually eliminating spill-overs of domestic violence from the home into the workplace and vice-versa.

ABOUT THE WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT PRINCIPLES

The Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) guides business on how to promote gender equality and empower women in the workplace, marketplace and community. Jointly established by the UN Global Compact and UN Women, the WEP’s are underpinned by the international labour standards and human rights and by the recognition that business have an important role in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment. Adopting the seven principles is the best way that businesses can deliver on the ambitions for gender equality and women’s empowerment as outlined in the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development and in the 17 SDGs. (RNBC press release)