Three leading female professionals have added their voices to claims that women are underrepresented in the upper echelons of Bermudian business.

Michelle Wolfe, Linda Longworth and Christie Hunter Arscott have all called for more to be done to address gender imbalance, an issue highlighted by the Women’s Resource Centre last week.

The Centre’s executive director Carol-Ann Simmons had claimed that the male-dominated negotiations during March’s immigration protest typified the island’s gender equality problem.

Responding, Ms Hunter Arscott, a gender and generational strategist, said that gender imbalance in the workplace was a “complex issue” which required a data-driven approach to address.

She added that a 2015 survey she helped co-ordinate revealed that women comprised just 15.7 per cent of board members in Bermuda public companies and Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers companies.

“We need to ask ourselves as a country what we can do to better advance women leaders across industries and sectors in Bermuda,” Ms Hunter Arscott said.

“Data is critical — we need to know where we are starting from and have metrics to hold us accountable on our progress.”

Ms Hunter Arscott also called for change at an organisational level, such as offering formalised succession planning and addressing unconscious bias — as well as an increased focus on the individual to allow women to move more fluidly into board roles.

Ms Wolfe, managing director of Meritus Trust Company Limited, said that raising awareness of the issue, and encouraging the next generation of women to climb the corporate ladder, were both important for Bermuda to best tackle inequality.

“I think that women are probably not given the opportunity as much as I’d like to see,” she said. “I’m very fortunate to be in a leadership position, but I’m really in the minority in Bermuda and possibly worldwide.”

Ms Wolfe said that her success came from pushing herself out of her comfort zone, and maintaining her professional stamina.

“I worked a little bit harder than the men. I put in more hours and really had to sacrifice a lot personally,” she said.

And Ms Wolfe also implored young women to find their passion and work hard to achieve their goals. She added: “Learn everything you can.

“If you’re not willing to invest in yourself, why should anyone else?”

Ms Longworth, managing director of Hamilton Trust Company Limited, who like Ms Wolfe featured on the 2015 Citywealth IFC Power Woman Top 200 list, also spoke of the inherent value in educating oneself and working hard.

“I would like to believe that Bermuda has come a long way in this area,” she said.

“The situation is getting a lot better as more women come into business, but I also think we still have a way to go.”

Ms Longworth said that women in positions of authority had a responsibility to encourage young Bermudian ladies to follow in their footsteps.

“I think we’ll see a change in boardroom composition in years to come, as more women worldwide enter the business world,” she added.