All-round queen bees
WOMEN are the queen bees of their families and businesses.
They are also like the worker bees who wear many hats and play various roles in their hives that represents their homes, communities and businesses.
Waitika Farm’s Jean Tikaram shared this analogy while presenting at the 3rd WIN Convention in Suva last Saturday on the topic ‘Balancing family, growing business and the resilient journey’.
She said all the bees in a beehive are worker bees and all are females.
In the bee hives, she said, worker bees lasts for about 35 days before they die.
She explained when little bees are born, they eat their way up the cell after which they go straight back in, clean out their little cell, and then get to work.
“They feed the other little bees. They become nurse bees for the next age group of bees and so on and so forth. Their jobs continue to change,” Mrs Tikaram said.
“They are nurse bees, they look after the home, they all work together. They don’t operate independently.
“They produce their wax, they produce the honey, they create food, and the more I was thinking about this, I said ‘hey, this is us!’
“We are like the worker bee. And you know us women, we wear many, many hats.”
Mrs Tikaram said the beehive is headed by one queen bee. The queen bee is also like us (women) because if that queen bee is working, if she’s sick, if she’s unwell, that beehive is moody and is sick and is not well.
“I can tell the minute I take off the lid off the beehive, I can tell the health of the queen.
“Why? Because the hive is either going to come out like they want to attack or they’re very aggressive, and I know straight away that there is something wrong with the queen.
“If that beehive is beautiful, they’re all buzzing. it’s beautiful and they’re organised, I know the queen is healthy.
“If you let that sink into you and you use that analogy in your own lives, if you are not well, are you going to function in your business? Are you going to function in your homes and your families? No!
“The point I am trying to make is health. The queen bee needs to function. You are the queen bees of your families. You are the queen bees of your lives.”