From personal assistant to pioneer

WESTERN BUREAU:

At a time when gender equality was scarcely acknowledged as a concept, Faith Haughton was breaking barriers and challenging male-dominated norms, making history along the way.

Haughton made history in 1961 as the first Jamaican woman in the public service trained as an administrator in the United Kingdom. She was also part of the pioneering team that established the personnel department at the Bank of Jamaica.

Born in Kingston, Haughton had to meet rigorous qualifications before even considering a career in the government service. She took the stenographer’s exam and passed the Royal Society of Arts examination – comparable to the Cambridge exams – and placed second in the entire island.

Her civil service career began as a personal assistant at the Island Traffic Authority, and she later worked in the Office of the Prime Minister under Sir Alexander Bustamante and, before him, in the office of Premier Norman Manley.

During a visit to Jamaica for this Sunday Gleaner interview, the now-101-year-old Haughton, who now resides in Florida, was quick to clarify that she was not the personal secretary to either leader.

“I was a senior secretary and worked closely with the permanent secretaries, but I knew both of them,” she explained. “Bustamante was very warm and personable. He would bring fruit from his property for us every morning. I liked him a lot.”

Manley, on the other hand, was all business.

“He valued every moment and was very demanding of his staff. His personal secretary was always on edge, as he expected immediate results. If he needed his medication and it wasn’t at his desk in five minutes, he would get up and do it himself. However, both men were truly dedicated to Jamaica. They made sacrifices and were committed to the island’s development, very different from today’s leaders,” Haughton said.

Breaking barriers at the Central Bank

Working at the prime minister’s office was just the beginning for Haughton, a formidable woman barely five feet tall. She was later selected to work at the Central Bank during its formation. She recalls how five of the top secretaries in government service were sent to Stanley Payton, then governor of the Central Bank, who had been brought in from the UK to lead the effort.

“He was tasked with selecting one of us and he chose me. That’s how I became the governor’s private secretary at what is now the Bank of Jamaica,” she recalled.

That role was merely the start of her groundbreaking journey, though it was not without its challenges.

“I was the governor’s private secretary. Since he was from England and knew little about Jamaica, I handled almost everything for him,” she shared. “He had come from the Royal Air Force and later worked at the Bank of England before being sent to establish Jamaica’s Central Bank.”

The bank, responsible for shaping the country’s monetary policy, underwent several leadership changes. When Payton’s contract ended, another Englishman, R.P.T. Hall, acted in the position, followed by Jamaica’s own G. Arthur Brown. Through it all, Haughton remained in the same pivotal role.

But despite her front-row seat in the corridors of power, she watched as only men were sent to the UK for training and subsequently appointed as department heads.

“At that time, women were not being sent abroad for training. I raised the issue, and Arthur Brown supported me in getting approval, in principle, for women to be trained overseas. Once it was approved, I applied and became the first woman to be sent abroad for training,” Haughton told The Sunday Gleaner.

It was a historic achievement, but not everyone believed women belonged in such roles.

“One man told me women were considered ‘too emotional’ to be sent abroad for training,” she recalled.

That stereotype was so deeply ingrained that when her mother passed away while she was training in the UK, she made the painful decision not to return to Jamaica for the funeral.

“I didn’t want to reinforce the belief that women were too emotional. Instead, we had a service in my mother’s honour in the UK, because my daughter, who was also studying law there at the time, was with me.”

Back in Jamaica three months later, she was tasked with establishing the personnel department at the Bank of Jamaica. Yet, despite being the driving force behind it, she was not appointed as its head – simply because she was a woman, she believes.

A legacy of resilience, a life well lived

Haughton went on to recruit staff for the Bank of Jamaica, where she worked from 1962 until she retired at 52. While she found her career fulfilling, she acknowledged the difficulties of working in a male-dominated era.

“Men generally did not see women as their equals, mentally or professionally,” she reasoned. But she refused to be limited by those beliefs. “I believe women are not only equal to men but superior in some areas.”

Looking back, she feels fortunate to have had opportunities to break barriers, contributing significantly to the progress of women in the workplace today.

After moving to the Sunshine State with her late husband 50 years ago, Haughton continued her career in banking. Today, she is the toast of friends who have become family, ensuring she is well cared for.

Her contributions to her community were recognised when the county commissioners of Broward County named a day in her honour, acknowledging her volunteer work with Memorial Regional Hospital and her donations to the children’s hospital.

Still remarkably youthful in both spirit and appearance, Haughton attributes her vitality to kindness and empathy, particularly toward children. She also has a passion for flowers and Ikebana – the Japanese art of floral arrangement. One of her few regrets? Never learning to play a musical instrument, a skill she encouraged her children to pursue.

At 101, Faith Haughton remains a symbol of strength, resilience, and trailblazing achievement, proving that the barriers of the past were made to be broken.

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com