In celebration of International Women’s Day, CIBC FirstCaribbean hosted its first Women’s Workshop at the Salvation Army Headquarters, helping women in the community with limited resources get ready to enter the job market and teaching them the power of saving.
Mychelyn Watson, the bank’s Human Resources Business Associate, made a presentation on “Preparing Women for the Workplace.” She discussed interview etiquette and dressing for success. Inger Johnson, CIBC FirstCaribbean Retail District Manager, focused on “Women’s Financial Wellness” and shared tips for savings, investments, smart spending, and setting financial goals among other topics.
At the end of the seminar the ladies received CIBC FirstCaribbean tote bags filled with notepads, pens, fact sheets with interview tips, and other goodies to help them on their professional journeys.
“The Salvation Army is thankful for the partnership with CIBC FirstCaribbean held in recognition of International Women's Day. The presenters were very interactive and engaging. The session was filled with a wealth of practical financial advice and key tips for successful careers and job readiness, and our ladies are very appreciative,” said the Army’s Community Relations & Development Associate, Melanese Coakley.
Nikia Christie, CIBC FirstCaribbean Marketing Manager (Bahamas & TCI), said, “This International Women’s day, CIBC FirstCaribbean joined countries and organizations all over the world in celebrating women, not only by highlighting our accomplishments, but also by recognizing our challenges and working together to address them. Our bank firmly believes in gender equality, and we are proud to say that we have many women working in our organization, in all departments and at all levels. In fact, our Managing Director of The Bahamas and TCI is a woman - Marie Rodland-Allen, and so is our Chief Executive Officer Colette Delaney.
“We are proud of our female employees and leaders, and this year we wanted to celebrate International Women’s Day by helping to create even more female leaders in our community by equipping them with the skills, work ethic and confidence to enter the workforce. We hope to grow this initiative year after year.”
Various other International Women’s Day activities were held in CIBC FirstCaribbean branches across the bank’s 16-member regional footprint, including a “job shadow” exercise. Female students from secondary and tertiary institutions “filled” a variety of positions as they “shadowed” employees throughout the day; joining meetings with senior managers and executives or going on the frontlines with retail staff as they got a feel for the different roles performed by the bank’s 3,000 employees, 70 per cent of whom are women.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Colette Delaney, the first female CEO of the bank, said in a message to staff to mark the day, that while the bank was proud of the number of females serving at very high levels, there was still room for improvement, especially at the senior executive level.
“I am reminded of this every time I chair a meeting of our executive committee and realise I am the only female around the table, although I do have some company in the senior executive team and the senior leadership team,” she said.
However, she added that she was “proud of the support system we have put in place to help our women develop and rise to whatever level of our organization they may aspire to.”
CIBC FirstCaribbean held its first ever Women’s Workshop at The Salvation Army Headquarters in celebration of International Women’s Day. Ladies learned about tips for entering the workforce and saving. L to R: Delisia Armbrister; CIBC FirstCaribbean Retail District Manager Inger Johnson; Nicole Moss; Ominique Burrows; Ashanty Armbrister; Rose Marie Deveaux; Salvation Army Community Relations & Development Associate Melanese Coakley; CIBC FirstCaribbean Human Resources Business Associate Mychelyn Watson; and CIBC FirstCaribbean Marketing Manager Nikia Christie.
Inger Johnson: CIBC FirstCaribbean’s Retail District Manager Inger Johnson spoke on “Women’s Financial Wellness” during the bank’s Women’s Workshop at The Salvation Army on International Women’s Day.
About CIBC FirstCaribbean
CIBC FirstCaribbean is a relationship bank offering a full range of market leading financial services through our Corporate and Investment Banking, Retail and Business Banking and Wealth Management segments. We are located in sixteen (16) countries around the Caribbean, providing the banking services that fit our customers’ lives through approximately 3,000 employees in 68 branches and offices. We are one of the largest regionally listed financial services institutions in the English and Dutch speaking Caribbean, with over US$11 billion in assets and market capitalization of US $2 billion. We also have an office in Hong Kong. The face of banking is changing throughout the world and CIBC FirstCaribbean intends to lead these changes with the expertise, integrity and knowledge gained from banking in the Caribbean since 1836.
CIBC FirstCaribbean is a member of the CIBC Group. CIBC is a leading Canadian-based global financial institution with 11 million personal banking and business clients. Through our three major business units - Retail and Business Banking, Wealth Management and Capital Markets - CIBC offers a full range of products and services through its comprehensive electronic banking network, branches and offices across Canada with offices in the United States and around the world.
