Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister, Senator the Hon. Kamina JohnsonSmith, has laudedthe local organisers of Leadercast Women for their commitment to promoting leadership excellence among women across all spheres of society.

Senator JohnsonSmith, who was speaking at aLeadercast Women event at the Terra Nova Hotel in Kingston on Friday (October 18), encouraged the nation’s women to pursue excellence in their chosen endeavours.

“Corporate, politics, law, and medicine are not the only spaces in which to succeed. If you want to choose another path to focus on… another side of self, whether it is being the best mother that you wish to be… it takes courage to acknowledge the value you place on that path and to make the changes needed,” she said.

Noting that Jamaica facilitates a liberal amount of freedom, the Minister urged women to take advantage of these.

She said these include the right to:vote, own property, and make independent decisions, adding that these should be cherished.

“These are some of the things that we should celebrate but they are, largely, taken for granted,” she said.

For her part, host and creator of the podcast – ‘The Entrepreneurial You’ and facilitator of Leadercast Live and Leadercast Women locally, Heneka WatkisPorter, said the anticipated outcome is for participants to be equipped with the knowledge to improve their leadership skills.

“This leadership event that is happening globally, and I am streaming for Jamaica and we are making an impact. The overarching goal is to develop leaders worth following,” she explained. 

The Leadercast Jamaica host, who was selected to participate in the Executive Women’s Master of Business Administration (MBA) at the United States-based Brenau Universitysaid, “the theme for Leadercast Women is ‘Take Courage’ and it is all about being courageous in our leadership whether it is in our homes, our schools, government or businesses… wherever our sphere of influence is”.

The event featured presentations from several leaders in business, industry and entertainment.

Hosted under the theme, ‘Take Courage’, Leadercast Women seeks to amplify the voices of female leaders around the worldto make a difference in their communities, take control of their careers, and the build the confidence to lead and guide others to thriving futures.

Leadercast Live is largest one day leadership event in the world. Broadcast live each year from Atlanta to hundreds of host sites globally, Leadercast Live assembles globally respected leadership experts on one stage to share knowledge and insights from their experiences.