Spanish
Banco BHD announced the names of the ten selected for the tenth edition of the Women Who Change the World Award, the annual recognition that honors women who perform work that positively impacts society.
The ten selected this year by the jury are Delba Josefina Suero, from the province of Montecristi; Cándida Mercedes Castillo Reyes, from Santiago Rodríguez; Nellys Margarita Heredia Agramonte, from Azua; Norma Isabel Almonte Victoria and Xenia Anacaona Gell de Álvarez, from Santiago; as well as Herminia del Pilar Perelló (Judith) and María Estefani Zapata Mejía, from Baní; Francisca Arisleyda Beard de Burgos, from Puerto Plata; and Teresa Dhamelisse Then Vanderhorst, Janely Mercedes Paulino Madera and Norka Margarita Díaz Velázquez, from Santo Domingo. Likewise, a special tribute will be announced.
Josefina Navarro, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications and Social Responsibility at Banco BHD, highlighted that, during this decade, the Women Who Change the World Award has evolved into more than an award, into a women's development program.
"The Women Who Change the World Award recognizes and highlights the work and results of initiatives led by women that have a significant impact on Dominican society. In the ten years of this program, we have shared more than a hundred stories of women who, with their courage, example of perseverance, love for others, transformative spirit, passion, ability to build alliances and vision, demonstrate the greatest commitment to human progress," Navarro assured.
The initiatives of the women selected this 2025 have an unparalleled impact on the transformation of their communities and correspond to the areas of health, gender, inclusion, entrepreneurship, culture, and social action.
The jury of the Women Changing the World Award 2025 is made up of journalist Huchi Lora, María Amalia León, president of the Eduardo León Jimenes Foundation; Oscar Villanueva, president of the Quiéreme Como Soy Foundation; Soledad Álvarez, philologist and poet, and Steven Puig, president of Banco BHD. In addition, for the second time, the invited juror is Reverend Father Secilio Espinal, rector of the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM).
The ceremony will be held on Sunday, November 23, 2025, at the Eduardo Brito National Theater and will be broadcast on Color Visión, channel 9.
Contribution to women's progress
From 2014 to date, the banking entity has recognized more than one hundred women from all over the country, to whom it has offered a program of accompaniment, advice and extensive training to the beneficiaries of the work they do. Within the innovations, Banco BHD launched in March the Mujeres Líderes program, an initiative created especially for the winners of the Mujeres que Cambian el Mundo Award. The first-place winner will receive a cash prize of one million pesos. The second and third-place winners will receive a prize of five hundred thousand pesos each. The other recognized individuals will receive three hundred thousand pesos each. The Women Who Change the World Award is part of Banco BHD's sustainability and social responsibility strategy, as well as its gender strategy, which it has been implementing since 2015.
