Successful women working in the fields of business, sport and entertainment have talked about the struggles they faced achieving their career ambitions — and what it takes to overcome everyday hurdles that women in the workforce encounter.

Tracy Berkeley, Ebonie Burgess-Cox, Tiffany Haddish and Shira Jatto were panellists at a seminar organised by the Bermuda Tourism Authority and sponsored by international reinsurance company Chubb, held at its headquarters on Woodbourne Avenue last Thursday.

Ms Haddish is an American stand-up comedian and actress who won a Primetime Emmy Award for hosting a Saturday Night Live episode (2017) the same year she famously published a memoir, The Last Black Unicorn.

Her 2019 album, Black Mitzvah, won a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album.

The discussion, “Breaking Barriers — Women Thriving in Male-Dominated Fields”, was hosted by Hazel Clark, a former US Olympic middle-distance runner who works as the director of global sales and business development at the Bermuda Tourism Authority.

“We’re going to delve into the backgrounds of our panellists and see why they’re passionate about changing the game,” Ms Clark told an audience of more than 100 — mainly women — attending the event.

Perhaps ironically, it was a man who was first invited up to the podium.

David Rhoden, the vice-president of culture and inclusion at Chubb, spoke about the company’s all-embracing ethos.

He said: “Everyone has unique experiences and we want to leverage that. To chart a course for the next generation is a no-brainer for us.

“We want to create a system where people can thrive. We’re here to create long-term relationships.”

Mr Rhoden won applause when he spoke of his two young daughters and how he encouraged them to excel in whatever field they were drawn to.

He said exposure to opportunity was the key to women breaking through the glass ceiling.

Tracy Berkeley, the chief executive of the BTA, described her career trajectory as “a very interesting rollercoaster ride” and expressed frustration that so few women held senior positions in the business world.

Asked by Ms Clark how she felt about being the first female CEO of the Bermuda Tourism Authority, Ms Berkeley replied: “When I reflect on what it means to be the first woman CEO, it seems strange because, to be the first in 2024 is just ridiculous.

“Women have been around for centuries and we’ve done a lot of phenomenal things. The time for womanhood is now.”

That view was echoed by the other panellists, who spoke of an inclination to withdraw when in male-dominated spaces — and the need for women to fight back against that temptation.

Ms Burgess-Cox, a champion professional golfer, described how one boardroom meeting compelled her to take a back seat.

She said: “There were a lot of men in that room and I was intimidated.”

She said: “I used to walk into a room full of men and I would make myself smaller to make them comfortable. You cannot do that.

“I’m not saying [gender bias] shows up every day of my life but when it enters the room, the way to overcome it is about being sure who you are.

“There’s a double standard for women. You cannot be too aggressive, you cannot be too emotional. I’ve been called all sorts of things and all of it is nonsense but it will derail you if you don’t have a true sense of who you are.”

Ms Jatto, the senior director of marketing and customer experience at One Communications, spoke of her rise from working in a video rental store in Canada at the age of 17. It was not without its pitfalls.

The proud mother of young children, who put herself through university while still working full-time, said that changing her own perspective had helped her cope with the mother-versus-career juggling act.

She said: “Mum guilt is real. I used to say, ‘Mummy has to work’. Now I say, ‘Mummy wants to work’.

“None of us are supermums. We’re going to have pizza more than we want pizza. But at the end of the day, the biggest thing we can say is that we’ve got this.”

Ms Jatto summed up the positive mood of the event, declaring: “You can have it all. You don’t have to choose at all.”

Although Haddish is a hot ticket on the Los Angeles comedy circuit, she noted she works in a male-dominated industry. She urged the audience to embrace what they love, regardless of the difficulties they may encounter.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the entertainer drew the biggest laughs from the audience, but there was a serious message behind her punchlines.

She said: “I don’t think I have confidence but what I do have is courage.

“No matter how different you are, you’re important.

“What brings you joy, that’s what you need to do each day. If it doesn’t put a smile on your face, what are you doing?

“Men, thanks. I love you. But you don’t define who I am.”

The panellists spoke of their own daughters, and the lessons that they felt they needed to teach them.

Ms Berkeley said: “I think about my daughters and I always say to them, it is not what people say about you, it is what you say about yourself.

“Womanhood for me is not just a label; it is how I live my life. I think it’s important that you tap into your femininity as you nurture your girls because this life is treacherous.”

Ms Burgess-Cox gave a more straightforward answer.

“I want to empower [my daughters] but more importantly I want them to empower other women,” she said.

Asked who had inspired them — who had put each of them on the road to success — there was a similar theme to the panellists’ answers — family.

Be it mothers’ grandmothers, great-grandfathers, sons or daughters, the quartet acknowledged that close relatives had been their back-up network and “a great foundation” to their development and success.

Referring to her children, Ms Burgess said: “They are my biggest cheerleaders.”