Guyanese Online

Export Team with Visiting Client
In the rear: Window overlooking leather factory
Cascavel – Ceará – July 2001

When I joined the Export Department at Italbras Leather Producer & Exporter,* I was the oldest woman on the team. The much younger and well-qualified Brazilian export manager put me to shame. She was fluent in three languages: her native language Portuguese, English, and Italian. What’s more, she was adept at navigating the factory’s electronic system for control of production and shipments.

After experiencing the vulnerability of MS Excel spreadsheets for controlling foreign exchange contracts and payment receipts, I proposed the development of a program specific to our needs. Fernando*, the handsome, young newcomer to the Finance Department, was assigned the task. To facilitate collaboration, his desk was aligned with mine, facing each other. His presence unsettled my female co-workers.

“Watch out, Rose. He’s after your job,” one…