Barbara Ellington, Lifestyle Editor

Portia Simpson Miller - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

Now more than ever, women need to understand their rights, particularly at a time when we are succeeding in the academic arena at a faster rate than men.

International Women's Day is celebrated on March 8 every year. This day gives everyone an opportunity to reflect on the enormous contribution of women to society and nation building. Women continue to hold families together, hold down their jobs at home or in the workplace, hold communities together and increasingly hold countries together.

There are still hurdles to conquer as women are still unfairly treated but the more inequities are highlighted, the greater our chance of having them addressed. Now more than ever, women need to understand their rights, particularly at a time when we are succeeding in the academic arena at a faster rate than men. It will naturally follow that women will become owners of valuable assets. So we must take the necessary and unemotional steps to protect property.

As women continue to make phenomenal strides in sports, business, the arts, politics, religion and academia, it is important that we unite to put systems in place to protect ourselves and our children for the future. We must understand how to guard against those who would exploit our names and talent for selfish ends.

Respect yourself, authority

Barbara Ellington

Women (especially mothers) must teach girls and boys to respect themselves, respect authority and accept themselves for who they are and in the image they were created. It was not accidental that a large percentage of the nominees for this year's publication were from daughters for their mothers. Mothers have power. That power should be harnessed to correct many of the ills that now plague the society and lay the foundation for a stable, fair, crime-free society. In this regard, we must continue to support Woman Inc., Women's Research Outreach Centre and all the other organisations that work tirelessly to improve the lot of less-fortunate women among us.

Phenomenal Women this year salutes Jamaica's first female Prime Minister, Portia Simpson Miller. Her achievement is a testament to all young women and girls that they can be anything they want to be.

We also salute Karen Tamasa, a rural woman from St. Mary, who at age 19 is a successful farmer, employer and homeowner. What a shining example she is to all of us. She represents the best of what we can be as Jamaicans.

We salute in a special way, our women overseas who continue to spread the positive message of personal achievement, whether in network television shows, politics, business, the literary world, the legal profession or education. Thanks for supporting The Gleaner, thanks for the hundreds of nominations for this publication and I urge you to share it with your daughters, mothers, sisters, aunts and girlfriends.

Send feedback to lifestyle@gleanerjm.com.