Bermuda Commercial Bank celebrates International Women’s Day

On Friday, March 8th Bermuda Commercial Bank Limited (“BCB” or “the Bank”) invited 90 ladies to join together to attend a motivational breakfast at the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club in Paget in celebration of International Women’s Day. International Women’s Day has been observed since the early 1900’s and is an official holiday in several countries including Afghanistan, Armenia, Belarus, Cambodia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Laos, Mongolia, Montenegro, Russia, Uganda, Ukraine, Vietnam and Zambia to name just a few. On this day, thousands of events are held across the world to inspire women and celebrate achievements.

A global web of rich and diverse local activity connects women from all around the world ranging from political rallies, business conferences, government activities and networking events, through to local women's craft markets, theatrical performances, fashion parades and more. The Bank felt that Bermuda should be included in this annual celebration and was excited to host such a powerful event. Edwina Lambert, Head of Banking for BCB stated, “We wanted to create an event to promote this occasion at which we could recognise and celebrate our accomplishments as women, inspire each other to constantly increase our knowledge, to join in and use our experiences, expand our minds, remain committed and work hard while maintaining our health and lastly to remember to exhale”.

In a very relaxed and congenial atmosphere, professional women from all industries congregated for coffee and a continental breakfast and to hear three speakers share some of their thoughts and ideas on empowering oneself and overcoming obstacles. The event kicked off with the Hamilton Town Crier calling the gathering to order. Guest speakers included Tasha Jones, Private Banker at BCB who spoke to “The Brand in Me”, Lola Myshketa, Senior Wealth Advisor at BCB, who reflected emotionally on “Climbing the Ladder”, and the keynote speaker, Shauna Mackenzie, Director Legal Services and Enforcement at the Bermuda Monetary Authority who closed the conference discussing “Managing Yourself as an Asset”. Tasha touched on recognising your “personal” brand, how to develop it, re-invent it, achieve it, and live it.

Lola then followed with personal accounts of how she climbed the educational and corporate ladder bringing herself out of a poverty and male-centric Albania into the successful and driven woman she is today. At the end of her presentation there was not a dry eye in the house as the struggle to overcome and persevere was at the forefront of her life story. And finally, Shauna discussed a bit of her personal and professional background and summed up the discussion leaving the audience with three clear ideas to take away – the need for continuing educational development, the need to keep relationships solid and the need to live a healthy life style. In between speakers, there were fun trivia questions about powerful and inspiring women from Bermuda and abroad.

Based on the numerous comments and feedback from the audience, the women left feeling motivated, inspired, and ready to take on the day; the way women should feel each and every day. The Bank hopes to grow this event and make it an annual gathering to continue to empower women to celebrate, balance, and achieve in their day to day lives.