Island Resilience event celebrates female Caribbean leaders

As part of International Education Week, Sydane Morrison, ‘26 G, hosted an event titled “Island Resilience: Caribbean Women and Future of Equitable Leadership,” through the Gender, Leadership and Empowerment Center. 

The discussion, held on Nov. 21, examined the history of female Caribbean leaders in precolonial, colonial and modern-day eras. 

Morrison said the event was held to illustrate how Caribbean women are shaping the future of equitable leadership. He said his goal was to inspire women to become advocates for what they believe in and to empower people to foster more inclusive environments.

“Throughout history, we’ve seen how Caribbean women are resilient,” Morrison said. “I felt that it was important to speak about how they became resilient and how their resilience has helped shape the economy, the social lives and the well-being of the people of the Caribbean and the greater world.”

Morrison grew up in Kingston, Jamaica. Having lived on several Caribbean Islands throughout his life, he said it’s common for him to see women in leadership positions. 

To open his presentation, he said when many people think about the Caribbean, they think of three things: sun, beaches and alcohol. However, he said there’s much more to the region and its people than these stereotypes show. 

Morrison said female leaders have played monumental roles in shaping Caribbean culture and inspiring women across the globe. 

He said Joy Spence, the Master blender for Appleton Estate, a Jamaican alcohol distiller, is an example of this leadership. Spence was the first woman in the world to become a Master distiller. 

According to the International Labor Organization, 59% of managers in Jamaica are women, making it the country with the highest percentage of female leaders in the world.

Morrison gave examples of female Caribbean leaders, including the head of the Jamaican Army and both the president and prime minister of Barbados. He also mentioned Barbadian singer and founder of Fenty Beauty, Rihanna, as well as Jamaican three-time Olympic gold medalist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who became the oldest woman and first mother to win a world title in a 100m race. 

Morrison said before these trailblazers, women in the Caribbean once lived different lives in the face of slavery and oppression. 

“Caribbean women have carried legacies of colonialism, slavery and economic hardship, yet they consistently rebuild communities from the ground up,” Morrison said.

He said during colonialism, many Caribbean societies were matriarchal because male slaves were shipped to other countries. Women were left to do manual labor and became the main leaders within their communities.

Natalie DeRosa, the associate director of the Center for Cultural Engagement, said her favorite part of the presentation was learning about Nanny of the Maroons, an 18th-century leader in Jamaica who led her community in resisting British colonial forces.

She said if it wasn’t for the event, she otherwise wouldn’t have had the opportunity to learn about these powerful female leaders. 

“We usually don’t get to learn about this in the states, but it’s very important to be exposed to this type of programming,” DeRosa said. 

Sarah Haque, ‘29, was also in attendance and said she learned a significant amount from Morrison because she had never previously been taught about the Caribbean and its history.

She said learning about specific powerful female figures was particularly interesting and inspiring. 

“Sometimes I feel like in the states the emphasis on women in power isn’t as strong as it is in the Caribbean, and it should definitely be talked about more,” Haque said. 

At the conclusion of the discussion, Morrison encouraged the audience to stand up for what they believe in and to lead with purpose, not fear.

He said he hoped attendees left feeling informed about the Caribbean’s rich history and motivated to make their environments more inclusive, which involves supporting equitable representation in leadership.