It would probably take a great deal of persuasion, even in an era when there are far fewer workplace gender barriers than had been the case a decade or two ago, to cause one to believe that a modern plywood manufacturing company, the largest such enterprise in the Caribbean, has placed its operating reins in the hands of a woman.
This, as it happens, is the case at Barama Company Limited’s Land of Canaan operations, a company that has its roots in that widespread Asian reputation for an uncompromisingly rigorous work ethic. These days, the now admittedly much-transformed company, has placed its faith largely in the hands of a Guyanese woman who has been quietly and unfussily delivering to high standards.
Patricia Mingo-Griffith is directly answerable for both the volumes and quality of the Barama product. The local and regional history of management in the productive sectors may not fit in with this particular gender preference and yet this is what obtains at Barama.