For women to be successful, they need the support of their fellow women.
That’s the spirit of this year’s International Women’s Day celebration theme: Give to Gain.
The organisation behind the worldwide event states: “When people, organisations, and communities give generously, opportunities and support for women increase. When women thrive, we all rise.”
For Juanae Crockwell, executive director of the Women’s Resource Centre and the driving force behind Bermuda’s IWD celebrations, this embodies much of the ethos behind her organisation.
“In order for women to have support we need other women in the community to be that support,” she explained, adding that the IWD celebration will be “looking at how giving to our community strengthens women and then, in turn, strengthens the community”.
A panel of women whose careers are defined by service and giving will feature at the celebration at Pier Six in Hamilton. They are Denise Carey, executive director of Home; Dr Nicola Paugh, executive director of the Nonprofit Alliance of Bermuda; and Dr Tiffane Thomas, COO of Family Centre and founder of Transitional Community Services.
They will be moderated by author, speaker and advisor, Christie Hunter Arscott.
“They will share about their journey in leadership, but also in advocacy and what it has meant for them, personally, and what it looks like when you give intentionally to support other women and create spaces for women to heal, grow, learn, recover and just be,” Ms Crockwell said.
Support
While the financial element is central to the theme of giving, it isn’t just about money. It’s also about how volunteers can share their time and talent, and there will be an opportunity for women to sign up to support the WRC in a variety of ways including lending expertise to their workshops, mentorship scheme, office support and event support.
There will also be an opportunity to give financially; Ms Crockwell emphasised that even small amounts will make a big impact.
“We want to change the way people think of giving financially,” she said. To this end, they have launched the WRC Circle, a monthly giving initiative whereby donors commit to $30 per month.
“Our hope is that we will have 1,000 women join the circle in 2026 before our 40th anniversary in 2027,” Ms Crockwell said.
“We often feel like you have to be rich to make a meaningful impact financially, but our WRC Circle is $30 a month, and that really does make a difference.
“It might not feel like you’re making a huge difference with that $30, but it’s the consistent support of our work and the WRC being able to confidently plan for the future because we know we have these 1,000 women that are committed to our mission and they might not be able to give in other ways.
“More than the dollar amount, it’s the commitment to creating a space and ensuring there’s a safe space for women in Bermuda to access.”
The theme of support for women is particularly personal to Ms Crockwell because of her own journey to get to where she is today.
She went through “some serious life challenges”, when she was younger, but her support system, and the WRC, helped her to overcome them.
“My family was just so incredible. I had other women that were mentors for me that really believed in me. That support literally changed my life,” she said.
“But I didn’t realise that that support wasn’t standard across the board for everyone. I took for granted that this is what everyone has and I remember looking at some other of my peers that had navigated challenges and they weren’t able to bounce back.
“That was really what opened my eyes to say every woman deserves the support that I had and if I can create a space for her to have that, I think the world will be a little better.”
Strengthening
The WRC’s core service is therapeutic support through counselling and support groups, for which there is no financial cost.
Once a woman is engaged in the organisation’s services, more help is available, such as the WRC hardship programme. They also provide education, training and wellness workshops for females, and birthing classes.
Even though women’s equal rights are now enshrined in law, Ms Crockwell said it’s vital that the community continues to support female-oriented organisations.
“Women experience the world differently, biologically, emotionally, the support should be tailored to their unique experience,” she said. “We’ve gone from equality to equity.”
She added: “Statistics show that women are still experiencing intimate partner violence at much higher rates than men. Women are experiencing and reporting depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, much higher than men.
“Women are typically the caregivers of our children and so they experience economic challenges in a different way than men. As long as there’s that different experience, the support should be tailored to that experience.”
She believes there should be a men’s resource centre as well.
Demand for the WRC’s services has increased significantly in recent years, from 37 in 2023-24 to nearly 100 a year later. Ms Crockwell would like the WRC to become “the leading space for women to access therapeutic support”.
She would also love for the organisation to become a support hub where women can receive counselling, shop at a thrift store for a job interview outfit, and consult a career coach for CV and interview advice.
In addition to the birthing class, she would also like to establish a support group for new mothers.
IWD will be celebrated in Bermuda on Friday, March 6. The event will continue to applaud Bermuda’s women, especially the Teen of the Year and the “highly anticipated” Woman of the Year awards, as well as “the contributions that women are continuing to make in our society.”
