Five women, who have made outstanding contributions to energy and climate resilience in the Caribbean, on Friday received the CARICOM Women in Sustainable Energy (W.I.S.E) Awards at the 16th Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum (CREF) held in Miami, Florida.

The Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE), the CARICOM Secretariat and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) partnered to make the awards a reality.

The women, who won from a pool of 12 nominees, are: Ms. Purdy Gouveia, Project Manager at the Caribbean Utilities Company, Cayman Islands, who received the award for Utilities and Industry, and the Hon. Kerryne James, Minister of Climate Resilience, The Environment and Renewable Energy, Grenada, who was recognised as a Youth Leader. Dr. Ruth Potopsingh, retired Associate Vice President of Sustainable Energy, University of Technology Jamaica, and founding member of the Jamaica Solar Energy Association, got the nod for Policy and Regulations while Ms. Angella Rainford, CEO/ Founder Soléco Energy Jamaica was cited for her contribution to Business, Entrepreneurship, and Finance. Rounding out the winners' circle was Ms. Rachel Sedacy Marketer and Business Consultant, Fifth Element Consulting/LAIT Up Belize, who was lauded for Social Impact, Community and Advocacy.

In addition, Dr. Indra Haraksingh, Lecturer at The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago, received a CARICOM W.I.S.E Lifetime Achievement Award.

In commenting on the significance of CARICOM W.I.S.E, CDB Acting President, Mr. Isaac Solomon, explained that the Bank supported the awards scheme because of the importance of promoting gender equality to encourage women to pursue careers in the energy sector which remains one of the most imbalanced in terms of female representation.

“Female-headed households and businesses owned by women may face financial constraints in investing in energy and renewable energy technologies and in this regard, CDB continues to integrate gender equality consideration to address the inequitable access by women in the sector. CDB’s funding support is in keeping with the Bank’s policy and strategy for the promotion of gender equality in all sectors,” Mr. Solomon said.