NASSAU, Bahamas (March 5, 2020) – Mrs. Patricia Minnis, wife of the Prime Minister, in her official function, Office of the Spouse of the Prime Minister, on Tuesday, 3^rd March,  talked about striking a balance between personal time and work time as the special guest speaker at a lunch meeting hosted by Rhone Trustees (Bahamas) Ltd.  

The meeting, held at Balmoral Club, was organised to celebrate women in leadership and to congratulate the new female Chief Executive Officer of the Rhone Group, Mrs. Jessica Hackett in attendance from Geneva, Switzerland.

Speaking to a room full of welcoming Rhone female employees, she said it was oftentimes “a juggling act to simultaneously wear the many hats we wear as women which are not limited to being wives, mothers, daughters, sisters, grandmothers, negotiators, colleagues, bosses and many more”.  She said because of the great expectations placed on women, many women are left with the notion that it is impossible to have a wonderful home life and successful career.

In debunking this belief, Mrs. Minnis said women need to develop a plan of action to create the right balance between their home lives and professional lives and provided eight key points that she said benefitted her in wearing multiple hats as a woman in a male dominated world.

She stressed that the first key to striking a balance was bringing clarity to one’s purpose.  “When you are clear about your purpose in life, wearing multiple hats becomes less stressful because decisions you need to make in fulfilling your purpose, becomes much easier,” she said.

Next, she said was the need for women to put the management and well-being of themselves first.   “If you are not well, whether physically or emotionally then you cannot take care of the people that matter in your life,” she said, “Your family, your clients and colleagues will suffer.”

Mrs. Minnis stressed that it was also essential to create boundaries that separated work time from family time.  She said women needed to put their mobile phones away at home and establish time that was sacred for their families.  “The world will not explode because you did not answer a few calls but you will implode if your family disintegrates from you not being fully present when you are home,” she said.

She talked about adding play dates to the calendar for special moments with spouses, significant others and friends; communicating needs clearly to spouses and partners to garner greater respect and appreciation for all involved and to create a peaceful atmosphere at home; and asking for help, as other key points.

Her seventh point was remembering to honour women who paved the way for other female leaders to follow and mentioned international and national leading ladies such as Michelle Obama, former US First Lady; Dame Ivy Dumont, first female Bahamian Governor General; Dame Janet Bostwick, first female Member of Parliament; and Ruby Ann Cooper Darling, first woman to register to vote.  Mrs. Minnis said when women pause to acknowledge pioneers, it allows them to put their challenges into perspective.  “Moreover, when you are grateful you draw others to you – colleagues and clients alike who will in turn see positive elements inherent in their daily lives and feel more optimistic about the possibility of future successes,” she said.

Her final point was to focus on mentorship of young women to create a possible cycle of growth whereby other young women would be able to follow their paths and create a solid network of women in business and leadership roles.

Mrs. Minnis’ immense focus on bettering the lives of women and girls led to the establishment of the Office of The Spouse of The Bahamas in 2018.