NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) recently celebrated International Women’s Day with a week of events during which it recognized the strides made by its female employees and women in society.
In a statement, the company said: “BTC remains committed to engendering equality in the workplace. Over the years, the company has made progressive steps to ensure that women and men are afforded equal opportunities.
“Approximately 63 percent of BTC’s management team is female and 55 percent females sit on the executive level of leadership.
“BTC honored its team members with a week of activities that kicked off on International Women’s Day on March 8. The events began with a global summit hosted by parent company Liberty Latin America followed by several activities during the week, including a wellness seminar, paint and sip and a local leadership summit featuring four team members as panelists.”
BTC CEO André Foster said: “I am really proud of the achievements of women in our business and in society as a whole. I am particularly proud of the strides that we’ve made as an organization in what is still a male-dominated industry.
“Today, we have a number of females in technical management roles who are breaking the glass ceiling and helping to grow our business. I am committed to the continued advancement of women at all levels of the organization and within our Bahamian society.”
Among these women is Shantell Cox-Hutchinson, the company’s director of technology operations for business to consumer — one of the few women to hold this role in the company. She was appointed to the role at the advent of the pandemic a year ago and has the mammoth task of keeping residential customers connected as she oversees a team of over 200.
She said: “It’s an honor to be recognized during International Women’s Day. I’ve had an exciting journey at BTC thus far, and I’m grateful for all of the leadership opportunities I’ve been afforded.
“Every day, I commit to doing the best that I can with whatever I undertake. I boldly choose to challenge the status quo and I am accountable for my actions and those of my team. Having a team that spans the entire country can be quite difficult at times, as each island has its own unique challenges. The work that the team does every day is nothing short of amazing!”
Tina Cooper and Tonya Johnson are part of Cox-Hutchinson’s team, leading technical operations on several Family Islands.
Cooper has been in the technical field for the last 29 years and is currently serving as the acting senior manager for Family Island Operations for Andros, Exuma and Abaco.
Johnson joined the company in 1989 as a technician and has held numerous positions. She is currently the acting senior manager of Family Island Operations for Eleuthera, Cat Island, Crooked Island, Inagua, Mayaguana and Long Island.
BTC’s week of activities included a wellness session featuring tips from Health & Wellness Coach Arkia Higgs, who shared the basic principles of a healthy lifestyle in the midst of a pandemic, and a yoga session hosted by Alex Kaufmann (BahaYogi).
The week-long events ended with a leadership summit which included a panel discussion featuring four team members from across the business: Diane Lockhart, who is one of the youngest female managers in the company and hails from Long Island; Taharji Smith, one of the top performers on BTC’s Business to Business Team, from Grand Bahama; Pavia Crossgill, the second youngest female senior manager in the company and a legal counsel; and Cooper.
Lockhart shared her experience welcoming her third child during the pandemic. Smith shared her experiences on how she managed through both Hurricane Dorian and now coping with the COVID-19 pandemic. Crossgill shared her views on gender equality in the workplace and in society. Cooper shared her experience working in the male-dominated field of technology.
A year ago, the company demonstrated its support for progressive policies in the workplace by introducing a new parental leave policy that provides 16 weeks of maternity leave for expectant mothers and eight weeks off for fathers.
Loading ...
