BSP Samoa celebrates International Women’s Day
BSP Samoa staff showed their support for the International Women's Day on the 8th of March by signifying the event with a purple theme. As one of the biggest employers in the Pacific, BSP has over 1,500 women working in every facet of the business. 65% of BSP Samoa employees are women and BSP takes pride in the fact that women get the same opportunities as men.
An in-office competition based on the theme colour to signify the event saw staff engaged in creative ways to show their support for International Women's Day, adding a touch of purple to promote the key message of this year which is #balanceforbetter.
The two speakers who delivered motivational speeches were BSP's own Country Manager Taituuga Maryann Lameko-Vaai and Jennifer Fruean who is the Head of Finance and the current President of the Chamber of Commerce.
In her keynote address; Taituuga observed a moment of silence, to remember all the mothers and women who inspired and made a difference in the staffs' lives. "We honour the women who have paved the way for us, who have fought for our rights to have a quality life, good education, equal opportunities for employment, and so much more." Furthermore, she added, "In our quest to promote "balance-for-better", our biggest achievement would be to raise champions for change for tomorrow - our children! We must nurture our daughters to embrace and be proud of who they are and to empower them to stand up for their rights. As mothers we must teach our sons and instil in them that women are to be respected and loved".
Ms Jennifer Fruean who is the Head of Finance and the current President of the Chamber of Commerce delivered an inspiring speech on the theme. "My personal assessment of Samoa's position, we can confidently say we have excelled in a number of indicators that measure equal opportunities for female and other genders or abilities. I also believe that whilst collectively there has been significant improvement, not everyone has progressed evenly and hence why we must continue to play a part in this drive so that we can contribute to a "#balanceforbetter society"
She further added; "As we celebrate this year's international women's day, we must be grateful for the blessings our Father has given us individually. Grateful, we are working in an organization that promotes, empowers and delivers on its promise of equal opportunity for women and our Pacific people. We are surrounded by men that provide us the support and motivation to be out there and we must continue to ignite that self-motivation or support to promote equal opportunities for all women. Happy International Women's Day to all our women; our spouses our mothers, sisters and girls."
Being strong advocates for women empowerment, BSP Staff donated $1,000 for the women at SVSG to mark International Women's Day 2019.