Last week (Sept. 10), at the invitation of global media group Forbes, the Minister of Home Affairs, the Hon. Alexa Lightbourne, JP, MP, attended the 13th Annual Forbes Power Women Summit in New York City.
This year’s Summit convened under the theme “Building What’s Next”, a focused inquiry into the future of women’s leadership, equity, and innovation. Minister Lightbourne joined an audience of global policymakers, entrepreneurs, creatives, and changemakers for a day of dialogue and strategy centred on transformative leadership in times of disruption.
The event, hosted by Moira Forbes, featured keynote addresses and panel conversations with Melinda French Gates, Sara Blakely, Dr. Sian Proctor, Yara Shahidi, Abby Phillip, Kara Swisher, Hoda Kotb, and Regina Dugan, among others. Topics included the rise of ethical AI, modern approaches to maternal health, new frontiers in women’s investment, and the systemic barriers still facing female entrepreneurs worldwide.
Speaking after the Summit, Minister Lightbourne said, “From the cost of housing to food insecurity, from digital equity to climate resilience, our national challenges in Bermuda echo global ones. What we heard reinforced that these challenges can be met with bold, collaborative leadership grounded in equity and shared responsibility.”
Minister Lightbourne’s participation underscores the Government’s ongoing commitment to embedding gender equity within all policy domains, including economic development, labour, energy reform, and housing.
The Minister added, “We must not view these important principals as isolated silos of governance. The decisions we make in energy regulation affect affordability. The decisions we make in housing shape dignity. And at every level, we must ask ourselves who benefits, and who bears the burden?
“Hearing from women who are moving billions in capital, leading global change in healthcare access, and reshaping cultural norms was energising and reaffirmed that we must continue to lead with equity as our design principle.”
While at the Summit, Minister Lightbourne also engaged with leaders from the ForbesBLK and Forbes Under 30 communities, two platforms committed to advancing Black and next-generation entrepreneurship. These engagements served to strengthen strategic networks for knowledge exchange, mentorship, and investment partnership.
In addition to the formal Summit programme, Minister Lightbourne participated in a series of media engagements with Sirius XM, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, supporting Bermuda’s visibility as a progressive jurisdiction committed to inclusion, innovation, and sustainability.
Photos: Minister Lightbourne at Forbes Power Women Summit and Minister Lightbourne with Ayisha M. Mendez, Forbes Community Manager, ForbesBLK.
