#PowHerTalk Launch Highlights.

Krystal Tomlinson on Wednesday October 7th launched her #PowHerTalk series under the theme "Ladies of today, leaders of tomorrow #MakeItHappen" at the University of the West Indies, Taylor Hall. The series is aimed at empowering and encouraging young women; providing them with a space where they can learn, voice their opinions, concerns and gain advice from each other and from women of excellence across different fields.

The guest speakers were all  late and usually waiting would annoy me to the core but I appreciated the fact that all the speakers are hard working women juggling a thousand things all at once but still found a way to make being at the PowHerTalk happen.  If the young women present were not inspired and empowered by just that realization they were not really paying attention.

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The ‎#PowHerTalk featured Senator Imani Duncan-Pryce, journalist Janella Precius and Media personality and event organizer Krystal Tomlinson. Lady Saw was also slated to speak but had to pull out at the last minute.  Each had some amazing things to say, however I'll be highlighting some of my favorite points from each speech. 

Senator Imani Duncan-Pryce was the first speaker and she  was very candid about her professional and personal life. In other words- she kept it all the way real. I honestly didn't expect her to be as open as she was. I'm sure many people when they hear a politician or business person will be giving a speech expect boring and stuffy but she was far from that.  She spoke on the role of women in business, politics and in the home. She informed the audience that though Jamaica has one of the highest percentage of females in management positions many are still being payed less than their male counterparts simply because they are afraid to negotiate for higher salaries. With that point she encouraged the ladies to be fearless and negotiate for a pay increase. The first step towards doing that she instructed is placing a high value on your qualifications and skills and commanding respect whilst being respectful. She also imparted some words of wisdom to those who aspire to enter the corporate world,  "arrive early to business meetings, sit at the table- in the middle, at the front but never on the outside or at the back." Mrs Duncan-Pryce said doing this will ensure that we are not overlooked when decisions are being made.  She also said that has professional women we should try not to make excuses but find ways to get the job done. Doing this she said will ensure that negative perceptions of what a woman can or cannot do is erased in the workplace. She also advised that in the conference room though it's ok to be nice, as women we should never make it our duty or have the duty thrown upon us to make or serve the coffee or take notes. Senator Duncan-Pryce also advised that when it comes down to personal relationships young women must understand that they should never compromise their personal ambitions for a man. She reflected on ho she learned from making that mistake in her first marriage. She pointed out that a relationship is a partnership and a good man will encourage and empower his woman to achieve her goals. She then went on to speak on how many women have issues with the "boys only club" because they feel its the reason they don't make it to the top of their specific professions. She expressed that there is nothing wrong with the brother hood or "boys only clubs" infact she feels that just like the men have created brotherhood and secret societies (her husband is a member of the Free Mason Society aka Lodge and that revelation sent shock waves through the audience) to support each other so too women should create sisterhoods instead of always trying to tear each other down over trivial things. 

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Krystal Tomlinson was next and her first points were centered around women celebrating each other. I agree whole heartedly with that sentiment because even in the room  I heard young ladies being judgmental of each other, picking away and laughing at simple grammatical errors of those who chose to speak and having issues with those who participated by asking multiple questions. One of my male friends has a favorite quote and he reminds me frequently that he doesn't try to understand women because "women understand women and they hate each other." Sad but this is true sometimes and as Krystal pointed out women tend to hold on to grudges too long and leave University carrying those same hard feelings towards each other into their professional lives not realizing that these are some of the reasons they can't get ahead in their organization. My favorite portion of Krystal's talk was when she told the young ladies to Put some "fleek" on aspects of their life that is of actual importance. I'm sure this resonated with every one in the room. I see where women are caught up in the social media world mainly posting about their hair, their nails, a party they went to or throwing shade at some phatom "hater". All very vain and unecessary in the grand scheme of things. Krystal put  it perfectly we should ensure that our social media reflects more than just vanity. She challenged the young women in the audience to post their goals or instead of posting their new hair style or that new outfit for that party make a post about the A+ they received on a test or term paper. She reminded the University girls that life on campus is not the real world and thus they should try not to be consumed by all the frivolous activities they are presented with each day. She encouraged them to soak up all the knowledge needed for entrance into real world ahead.

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Janella Precius was the nights final speaker. She co-signed some of what Krystal and Imani said before her. Miss Precius said that women should know their worth and the perfect way to do this is to set high standards and stick to those high standards. She too challenged the ladies in in room to value themselves higher than a meal at KFC or a trip to Strawberry Hills. Janella told the story of how for years women in the news room were being handed fluff pieces to report on instead of hard hitting stories people were really interested in hearing. She told how that changed during the Tivoli incursion when the men in her news room were afraid to face the gunshots in West Kingston, she took the reigns and used the opportunity to show that female journalist in Jamaica can do anything the males can do.  What I took from Janella's speech is that when a good opportunity is presented women should ensure that they take full advantage and do our best to always  "shock the system".

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I can say honestly that it was good for me to have been at this event. The PowHerTalk was entertaining, informative and empowering. Congratulations Krystal on the launch of what I know is set to be a great series. I look forward to the next installment.  #PowHerTalk #MakeItHappen. 

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