According to the World Bank, globally only one in three small, medium and large business enterprises are owned by women.

It’s a fact that is further compounded by the greater challenges women face in accessing financial accounts and services than their male counterparts.

In honour of Women’s History Month, today we recognise five transformational Jamaican women who, against all odds, are working to #BreakTheBias in business.

1. Nayana Williams

Nayana Williams is the powerhouse of a woman behind the bottled springwater brand, Lifespan.

After overcoming many obstacles in business, today she boasts building a market-leading bottled-water manufacturing company from the ground up.

With her business now in its 16th year of operation, Williams’ is the story of breaking the bias in business as she remains the only female boss in a male-dominated industry.

READ: Nayana Williams pens inspirational memoir about the Lifespan Movement

2. Safiya Chisholm

Safiya Chisholm is the proud owner of the Jamaican pastry delight, Pastry Passions.

Hers is the story of a young girl who dared to dream until her dreams became a reality.

After recognising her love for baking at a young age, an 11-year-old Chisholm envisioned herself becoming the woman in charge of the largest retail bakery in the world, with huge factories and 18-wheeler trucks delivering her freshly baked goods all over the world.

While this remains a feat she has yet to accomplish, in the year 2007 she took control of her destiny and turned her passion for baking into a highly successful Jamaican-owned business venture.

3. Monique Powell

Monique Powell is the Jamaican visionary who saw a need, then birthed Jamaica’s first and fastest-growing online food delivery service, QuickPlate.

At its inception in 2016, QuickPlate’s goal was to provide increased options within the food delivery industry.

However, with the success the company found and the realisation that individuals wanted the same convenience that they had grown accustomed to with prepared meals, for other items such as groceries, QuickCart, a service provider that afforded clients just that, was formed.

No less than an innovator, Powell embodies the theme of breaking the bias as she continues to navigate and excel within the heavily male-dominated tech start-up sphere.

4. Michelle Chong

Michelle Chong is the founder and chief executive officer of publicly-traded wholesale bakery, Honey Bun Limited.

Acting in the capacity of CEO of the company for the last 36 years, Chong has helped to break the bias against women in business.

Under her leadership, Honey Bun, which started out as a retail bakery with 12 employees, now boasts more than 400 employees with over 40 product offerings.

Chong remains an inspiration to future women in business and a reminder that anything is possible.

5. Audrey Hinchcliffe

Audrey Hinchcliffe is an astute businesswoman and the driving force behind Manpower & Maintenance Services Limited.

Despite a less than easy childhood, a young Hinchcliffe determined that in the future she would become affluent and set her sights on achieving as much.

When life threw lemons her way, she did what any good businesswoman would and made lemonade.

After being unable to gain employment in Jamaica, following her years of experience in the nursing field in the United States, Hinchcliffe started her own health services company in the form of the Caribbean Health Management Consultants Limited (CHMC).

Out of CHMC grew a demand for cleaning and portering services in hospitals, which she provided with the birth of Manpower & Maintenance Services Limited.