Young: Men, the weaker sex

He was speaking yesterday at the launch of the Association of Female Executives of Trinidad and Tobago Reach Mentorship Programme held at Queen’s Hall, St Ann’s.

He said that with an apparent attack on women, men need to step forward not only to protect but also to support.

He told the nine girls participating in the month-long programme to have faith in themselves. He said that it was undeniable that women face more difficulties than men.

Young, also Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs and Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, told the gathering that he looks forward to working with women and he personally tries to be the equal of women.

“We men are the weaker sex,” he added.

The mentorship programme is in collaboration with the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts.

Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, in her remarks, said told the girls they may feel that they cannot reach where they want to go or do not even think about it.

She shared a story of a girl who was taller than her friends, a “big horse”, who was a high achiever but felt inadequate and not sure of herself.

She revealed that this girl was her.

She said, “Nobody could believe how that could cut away at your self esteem and how you could feel as if you don’t measure up.” “Little things can affect us. And in this life there are so many things that eat away at us as people. We don’t feel we measure up. And that can keep us back. That can make us think we can never achieve.” She thanked AFETT for having the programme and said she thought it important that the ministry partner with them. She said that many people want to do things but not willing to put their time, money and energy “where their mouth is”. She also reported that the ministry will also be having a male mentorship programme.

“This is what is going to change our young people.” She said that with 25 per cent of the population under the age of 18 they will not be able to reach all of the hundreds of thousands but they can reach some. She added that while saying that young people are the future of the nation is clich? if the young people do not produce “who will be the parents of the future generation”.

“At age 15 I never thought about parenthood. At age 22, I was a parent,” she said.

Returning to the programme she said that the mentors, who have pledged their time, effort and energy, will help the girls express what is inside of them and “can give you a key to unlock your future”. She said when the administration took office Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley had made a call for volunteerism and AFETT “has done that”.

AFETT president Tricia Leid reported that they previously had the initiative in the Gasparillo, Santa Cruz and Palo Seco community centres and thanked Young for welcoming them into his constituency.

She said mentorship provides opportunities for girls to be leaders in the communities, to extend learning outside the classroom and to change them from girls into independ