Fayval bats for women - Williams tells females to chase their dreams

Jamaica's first female finance minister, Fayval Williams, has urged women and girls across the island to speak out against abuse or harassment and never allow gender to limit their dreams.

In opening the 2025/2026 Budget Debate in Parliament yesterday, Williams encouraged young girls to believe that they can succeed in fields traditionally dominated by men.

"Gender does not have to limit your aspirations," she declared.

Williams noted that finance and politics have long been viewed as male-dominated spaces, but she challenged girls to see those fields not as barriers, but as opportunities.

"To all the young girls, I want you to see the fields of finance and politics as a challenge that you are more than equipped to honourably face," she said.

Now in her third term as member of parliament (MP), Williams told females to "Never doubt your voice". She has been MP since 2016, having won consecutive elections in St Andrew Eastern, a seat considered a political battleground.

"To our women, at whatever point you are in your careers, speak up and claim your seat at the table. Even if you are the only woman there, it's your ideas and values that count, not your gender," she said.

Williams also addressed the reality that many women face abuse and harassment but remain silent.

"Do not let anyone tell you that silence means consent," she said firmly. "Mash down that lie."

According to Williams, the phrase has often been used to discourage women from speaking out about abuse.

"That phrase is meant to shut us down," she told Parliament. "It is meant to have us crawl into ourselves and never utter a word about the abuse or the abuser."

Declaring that "this female minister of finance and the public service is in your corner", Williams urged women and girls who may be suffering quietly to find the courage to speak.

"I say to all our Jamaican women, married or unmarried, and to our girls who are suffering in silence, I pray you find your voice. I encourage you to speak out," she said.

"Your boldness will help to sensitise this Jamaican society and begin the change in the hearts and minds of each person in our society," the minister said.