Modern women who have broken the glass ceiling and excelled in their fields in Seychelles |08 March 2021

‘Breaking The Glass Ceiling’ is a metaphor about an invisible barrier that affects the advancement of women and minorities.

However, despite these invisible barriers, women and minorities have managed to prevail in profound ways. As we celebrate International Women's Day, let's take a look at some Seychellois women who have broken barriers and excelled in their fields.

Devika Vidot

Devika Vidot graduated with a degree in accounting and finance from the University of Manchester and a Master's degree in professional accountancy. She has worked in the financial service industry and is experienced in auditing. She has also been a lecturer at the University of Seychelles in business administration. Her last occupation was for the offshore industry. On October 31, 2020, Ms Vidot was elected unanimously as Minister for Investment, Entrepreneurship and Industry, becoming the youngest minister in the cabinet at the age of 31.

Devika is also a young mother of two who has shown that motherhood and career can go hand in hand.

Angela Servina

On February 1, Angela Servina was appointed as the chief executive (CEO) of the Town & Country Planning Authority, making her the first woman to occupy this position in the history of the department.

Ms Servina holds a first class degree in geography from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in South Africa.

She began her professional career at the Planning Authority on February 1, 2010 as acting senior planning officer in the strategic and land use planning unit. In 2012, she was promoted to the post of senior planning officer.

In August 2020, she became the principal planning officer and line supervisor, in the development and policy planning unit. A position she held until her appointment as the new CEO.

Caroline Abel

Caroline Abel serves as the first female governor of the Central Bank of Seychelles.

Ms Abel grew up at Anse Boileau where she also followed her primary and secondary education. Between 1989 and 1990 she continued her schooling at the former National Youth Service on Ste Anne island and Port Launay. Her love for mathematics led her to choose the subject as well as economics and geography at Advanced Level studies at the then School of Humanities and Sciences at the Seychelles Polytechnic.

After completing her three-year course she worked a few months at the Social Security Fund before moving to the Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS) as a senior bank clerk in April 1994.

Through the CBS higher education scheme two years later she went overseas to study for her first degree in economics at the University of Leeds. On her return after three years she became a research officer in CBS’ department of research and statistics.

Over the years, she followed several other training for economists and progressively climbed the ladder to become senior research officer and director of research. In 2004, she started a Master’s degree course in monetary economics at the University of Glasgow and in 2006 she was appointed head of the research and statistics division – a position she held until her appointment as deputy governor on July 1, 2010. On December 27, 2011, she became the first deputy governor in line with the amendments to the CBS Act. Only a couple of months later, as part of the first phase of government restructuring, Ms Abel formed part of the increasing number of women President James Michel appointed to key positions. On March 14, 2012 she officially took her new post as governor of CBS.

The governor has also been recipient to many prestigious awards, most recently winning the African Banker Awards 2020.

In August 2020, she was elected as the new vice-chair of the African Financial Inclusion Policy Initiative for a two-year term and is also the patron of the Red Cross Society of Seychelles.

As Governor, she also represents Seychelles as the Alternate Governor for the IMF, World Bank and the African Development Bank, and Governor of the African Export-Import Bank.

Shanna Charlette

Public Utilities Company’s first female electrical engineer, Shana Charlette emerged with a first class with honours for her Master’s degree programme after excelling in an electrical engineering course at the University of Hull in the United Kingdom.

She started her formal education at Mont Fleuri primary and secondary school, before progressing onto the School of Advanced Level Studies (Sals), where she successfully completed A-Levels in Maths, Biology and Chemistry. Following the successful completion of her A-Levels training programmes, she joined PUC as a hydrology technician for one year, involving data collection, recording hydrological data and writing monthly reports to the chief executive.

Having set her sights on a career in the medical profession, it didn’t take Ms Charlette long to realise that it wasn’t for her, leading her to change her choice and instead opt to further her studies in control and instrumentation engineering, a branch in electrical engineering. Her further studies at the University of Hull were funded partly by the government of Seychelles and PUC.

“It is quite intimidating because I was the only female on my course. The males are always testing you to see if you can do it. It's what I love to do and I put my mind to it so in the end proved them wrong. A lot of people asked me why I chose this field and my answer is always the same, you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it. The first key to success is confidence and determination.”

Regardless of the male-dominated environment and being faced with discrimination on the basis that she is female at times, Ms Charlette remained focused and determined on her studies, and proving herself to her counterparts.

Her efforts definitely paid off, as she emerged with a first class with honours for her Master’s degree programme.

Merna Eulentin

Merna Eulentin recently graduated from the University of Montreal in Quebec, Canada, where she completed her Master’s programme in educational administration with a distinction, the first Seychellois to receive such honours at the University of Montreal.

A teacher by profession, she noted that education was the best choice of her life as teaching is a job that she loves and makes her feel good.

After training at the School of Advanced Levels Studies (Sals), Ms Eulentin went on to the National Institute of Education where she got her diploma in secondary education in 2011. She then spent three years teaching at the Beau Vallon secondary school.

She returned to her studies in 2013 at the University of Seychelles where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts in French in 2016. When she graduated, she returned to teach at Beau Vallon from 2016 to 2017. In 2018, she joined the secondary school of Perseverance where she held the position of head of the French department.

Aware of the challenges of reforms at the global level and the implications in terms of change but also of supporting our teachers, she felt like she had to do something for her country which led her to apply for the Programme Canadien des Bourses de la Francophonie (PCBF) or Canadian Francophonie Scholarship Programme, which offered her the opportunity for professional development and improvement of skills by allowing her to do a Master's degree in one of the most prestigious universities in the world, the University of Montreal.

She met with the president earlier this year where she discussed changes she plans to implement in the education sector in Seychelles.

Compiled by Christophe Zialor