by: Llonella Gilbert/BIS
The Minister of Energy, Utilities and Aviation the Hon. JoBeth Coleby-Davis expressed her deepest gratitude to the High Commission of Canada, and to the High Commissioner of Canada to Jamaica, The Bahamas and Consul General for the Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands, His Excellency Mark Berman, for hosting the Women in Energy Award and for recognizing that women are not guests in the energy sector.
“We are architects of it, and we cannot build a sustainable future with only half our talent. Thank you for choosing a theme that asks who gets to build what comes next,” the Energy Minister said during the recognition ceremony held on the sidelines of Diplomatic Week 2026 at the Margaritaville Resort on Tuesday, October 20, 2026.
She said, “That theme is unlocking diversity in the clean technology economy. A lock does not break down a door. It holds it shut. But the right key opens everything. Diversity is that key, and the clean technology economy is a door waiting to be opened.”
The Minister, who was a recipient of the award last year, explained that the world is in the midst of its greatest energy transformation in a century and that ‘all hands-on deck’ is not just a slogan. It is a survival strategy.
The two recipients this year are Sonia Brown, Graphite Engineering Ltd. and Aimee Amanda Rolle, Bahamas Solar and Energy Supplies.
The Energy Minister said, “And to every woman in this room: you are not here to watch this future being built. You are building it, and many of you have been for years.”
The Energy Minister also noted that she did not always believe that about herself. “And I suspect some of you did not either.”
She said as an island nation, The Bahamas’ fuel costs are high, but growth should not mean higher electricity prices. “I measure our success by the condition in which we leave our country to the generations who come after us.”
The Minister said that is the real work, and it needs both sexes. Yet too many doors between talent and that work are still locked.
“Women make up nearly half the global workforce, but only about a quarter of the energy sector, and the numbers shrink further in senior leadership and technical roles. The locks look like girls being steered away from STEM before they discover they love it.”
She said unlocking that door requires two keys. “The first key is education and exposure. You cannot dream of being what you cannot see. We must put clean technology in front of girls early: solar labs, science camps, mentorship programs. When a young girl wires her first circuit, possibility replaces doubt.”
The Energy Minister said the second key is sponsorship, not just mentorship. “A mentor advises you. A sponsor puts your name forward when you are not in the room.”
She added, “To every leader here today: the most powerful thing you can do is not to encourage a woman. It is to recommend her.
“Our new CEO, Nikita Mullings at Grand Bahama Power Company, was recommended. Our CEO, Toni Seymour at Bahamas Power and Light, was recommended. Our Executive Chairman, Christina Alston at Bahamas Power and Light, was recommended.”
The Minister told the honourees that they have navigated an industry where women have had to work twice as hard to be heard half as much, and they have not just been heard, they have led.
She said, “Every young woman who now believes this career is possible, believes it because of you. You are not asking for a seat at the table. You are redesigning the table altogether.”
The Spouse of the Prime Minister, Anne Marie Davis; Trade Commissioner, High Commission of Canada, Yasmin Chong; Founder and Principal Consultant, Sumner Strategic Partners, Edison Sumner; and Chair, the Board of Trustees, University of The Bahamas, Allyson Maynard Gibson were also in attendance.
