Businesswomen discuss the achievements and challenges of women in the Dominican Republic

A group of four of the most outstanding businesswomen in the country addressed the challenges women face in the workplace, as well as the actions that must be applied to eliminate the gender gap in the Dominican Republic. During the discussion “Women and business leadership: challenges and obstacles”, organized by the Iberoamerican University (Unibe) and the Rosa Revolution Foundation, executives Ligia Bonetti, Elena Viyella, Lucile Houellemont, and Marisol Vicens told their experiences of how they broke down barriers to rise to leadership positions in their respective corporations.

Consistency, self-confidence, developing talents, vocation, preparation, and ethics, were some of the qualities that the business leaders exhibited during the activity attended by dozens of students and personalities and which took place within the framework of International Women’s Day which is commemorated on March 8. Ligia Bonetti, from Grupo SID, narrated that once she finished her degree, her father suggested that she work in the family business, but she chose to open her own path in New York, United States. While Lucile Houellemont, president of Dominican Watchman, said that she had to learn, she had to train in a sector led by men, such as private security.

The rector of Unibe, Odile Camilo Vincent, stated that when the academy is the forum to reflect on these issues, “it is up to us to go beyond individual stories to systematize knowledge, provide theoretical frameworks that help us understand the reality we live in and formulate recommendations and actions from the different university functions”. The discussion was moderated by Circe Almánzar, president of the Rosa Revolution Foundation, and Aida Mencía Ripley, Unibe’s vice-rector for Research and Innovation.