In order to support and motivate women in society, Bollore Transport and Logistics (BTL) Sierra Leone, on Monday 7th March, 2022, at the Queen Elizabeth Quay, Cline Town in Freetown, celebrated International Women's Day with female staff with the theme 'Breaking the Bias'.

International Women's Day (IWD) is a global day of celebration for the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women which is celebrated on 8th March every year, and it also an opportunity to reflect on and further the push towards gender parity.

Welcoming staff and dignitaries during the event, Country Manager for BTL, Bertrand Kerguelen said BTL Sierra Leone started as the Sierra Leone shipping agency and has since become the largest shipping agency in the country, being one of the largest freight clearing and forwarding service providers.

He said Bollore has a broad range of capabilities and experienced staff to handle both general cargo and project cargo with specific expertise in a number of vertical sectors, such as aid & relief, food & beverages, power technologies, telecommunications, and healthcare.

He said women's day is every day because men need them and that men should always support and empower women for them to be better people in society, adding that every year they celebrate women's achievement, raise awareness against bias and take action for equality.

Human Resources Manager at BTL, Claurinda Morgan said Bollore has employed 48 women working in different departments with 17 of them in the finance department.

She said women need men to support them in their work, adding that men should always treat women with respect and dignity.

She said men should value and empower their wives whether they are educated or not.

'Women are facing so many challenges, so men should help celebrate women's day.Education is the first step to help break the bias because what men can do women can do it better,' she said.

Motivating women at Bollore, Governance and Election Expert, Miatta French said the political sector is not friendly to women because men think they can only hold high positions than women. She said men are always jealous of women and that they face so many challenges like violence, abuse and many more.

She said in some institutions, women are not given free space to do their work, but no matter the challenges, women need to appear good in their various institutions.

She maintained that when men work with women, it gives different dimensions, therefore men should always feel free working with women for their institutions to grow and that women need to raise their sons in good ways for them to help women and for a better future.

Deputy Commissioner General at the National Revenue Authorty (NRA) Jeneba Bangura said when she finished her university, she actually wanted to work at the Anti-Corruption Commission but that she thought she needed to be grounded, which was not an easy task for her as a woman.

She said her role at NRA is very challenging because she has to raise money for the government, although she always conquered together with her team.

"In my community, most of the people I support are women so as we celebrate this day with the theme 'break the bias'. I want to encourage you all to always reach the sky because the sky is your limit and you should not allow other people to bring you down with their negative words.Collectively we can all break the bias," she said.

Chief Executive Officer for Purposeful, Chernor Bah said women need to be treated with respect and men should beak the bias against women.

Copyright Concord Times. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com)., source News Service English