“Happy Women’s Day to all Seychellois and women of the world.

“The UN International Women’s Day is dedicated to women who face inequality at all levels in society. We call on our leaders to provide more decision-making opportunities for women who make up the majority of our workforce.

“Mentorship programmes are successful routes in providing opportunities for future women leaders. We need to recognise the role women play in our society and provide support mechanisms to enable us to contribute in decision making.

“A majority of women take time off from the labour market through extended maternity leave while their male counterparts have no break in employment or training. Employers should introduce programmes for women returners to enable them to catch up on what they have missed while being on extended maternity leave be it for 6 weeks, 6 months or a year.

“Young women should be encouraged to choose careers which are seen as more male dominated. The law enforcement sector is one such example. Proper gender balance in succession planning is key to this. Of course meritocracy is important but the playing field is not always level. We need to recognise that there is a gender imbalance in decision making and I call on our leaders to engage our society on having a national discussion on this important issue.”

Source: Seychelles Nation