{"id":7048,"date":"2021-03-08T12:50:09","date_gmt":"2021-03-08T12:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huairou.org\/?p=7048"},"modified":"2021-03-08T12:52:46","modified_gmt":"2021-03-08T12:52:46","slug":"caribbean-women-in-politics-2021-the-elephant-is-still-in-the-room","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/huairou.org\/staging\/caribbean-women-in-politics-2021-the-elephant-is-still-in-the-room\/","title":{"rendered":"Caribbean Women in Politics 2021: \u201cThe elephant is still in the room\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Women\u2019s political participation is critical to fulfilling the potential of democracy. Women make essential contributions to achieving and maintaining peaceful and secure communities, the full realization of human rights, the eradication of disease, hunger and poverty, and the promotion of sustainable development. There is a benefit to all of society when women realize their full rights to participate in political processes. Unfortunately, there still exist obstacles to women\u2019s full participation – some visible, others not so visible.\u201d<\/em> <\/span><\/p>– UN Women, 2018<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>

According to the Inter Parliamentary Union, the overall percentage of women in parliaments has reached 24.9% <\/strong>in 2020 compared to the 11.3% <\/strong>in 1995.\u00a0 On average, 22%<\/strong> of ministerial portfolios and\/or cabinet positions in the anglophone Caribbean are held by women. Across the region, women generally do not hold more than 30%<\/strong> of elected positions, with the exception of Guyana, which has a legislated quota that prescribes for \u2153 of political party nominees to be women, and Trinidad and Tobago.<\/p>

UN Women puts it this way: \u201cReconciling the importance of addressing the low number of women in political leadership may not seem to carry the same weight as the urgency of addressing the economic and environmental vulnerabilities of\u00a0 heavily-indebted small island developing states (SIDS). Further, countries struggling with diminishing foreign reserves and the impacts of the increasing intensity of natural hazards do not often prioritize gender equality and the importance of women\u2019s leadership. However, the study points out that this can be short sighted and limiting in trying to achieve national development targets.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>

Feminists have long held the view, that the human rights approach to women\u2019s leadership as embedded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) speak to the fact that women should be in leadership because participation in decision-making and public life is a fundamental right. The 1995 Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA) outlined that the global standard for women\u2019s representation should be at least one-third, in order to ensure a critical mass with influence, rather than just tokenism.<\/p>

\"\"<\/figure>

In September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs are part of the broader 2030 Agenda, which is a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity. Using global survey results from the general public on development priorities, the SDGs represent global development aspirations for all countries. There are 17 SDGs, and although one, Goal 5, is a stand-alone on gender equality and women\u2019s empowerment, gender equality and women\u2019s empowerment are highlighted as critical catalysts for achieving <\/em>all<\/em><\/strong> of the SDGs.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Goal 5 contains 6 targets, where target 5.5. stands to ensure women\u2019s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.<\/p>\n\n

R.D. Miller a member of the criminal justice field in the region for over 15 years observed in an article about women\u2019s political leadership that, \u201cThe glass ceiling in the Caribbean may have had a few cracks, but it is still unbroken; and this is a time when communities are undergoing soul searching regarding who is best to lead them out of crime, poverty, a new direction, hoping for a brighter future.<\/em><\/p><\/div><\/div>

In the past decades, more women have emerged from \u201cthe shadows\u201d and ran for higher offices, yet numerous have also failed. \u00a0 It is not their qualifications that were in question, nor dedication to public service, but it is perhaps – \u201cbeing a woman\u201d.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

The late Eugenia Charles, the first and only female prime minister of Dominica (July 21, 1980, \u2013 June 14, 1995), and the second-longest serving Prime Minister in Dominica, also held the distinction of being the first woman in the Americas to be elected in her own right as head of government.   She was also the longest-serving female Prime Minister in the Caribbean. Ms. Charles was also the world\u2019s third longest-serving female Prime Minister, behind Indira Gandhi of India and Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka.<\/p>

Despite proven political leadership of former women politicians, women comment today that often selecting\/electing women leaders is \u201clike a \u2018beauty pageant contest\u2019\u201d: their appearance is more important than their experience or views on economic policies.<\/p>

Former prime minister Portia Simpson-Miller of Jamaica (March 2006 \u2013 September 2007 and again January 2012 \u2013 March 2016), and Kamla Persad-Bissessar of Trinidad and Tobago, (May 2010 \u2013 September 2015) are two examples from recent years.<\/p>

Their defeat incited examinations of how they lost and not discussions of their accomplishments. They were thought to be too opinionated, seen as failing to connect with a changing demographics, disconnected from the working class and the downtrodden. Seldom do people talk about hidden sexism, low voters\u2019 participation, and constant parliamentary griping, for some members refuse to accept their leadership.<\/p>

Despite these cracks in the ceiling, it has not created an easy passage for other aspirants. Prime Minister Mia Mottley, twice the leader of the opposition before her landslide victory in 2018, is considered one of the regions\u2019 brightest independent thinkers. She recently encouraged CARICOM to be more collaborative, especially since COVID-19 for better medical systems and care across the region.<\/p>

Many titles are now \u201cformer\u201d for women leadership in the region.This cannot become a comfort zone for any of us.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>

Every election has consequences, but losing an election does not mean upward mobility for Caribbean women is lifeless. Having more women in power is critical; especially as role modeling for young girls.\u00a0 Their education, healthcare, and safety are constantly at risk.\u00a0<\/p>

\u201cThe presence of women in political leadership<\/em>, directly affects pro-girls and women policies in these areas.<\/em>\u201d- as pointed out by the UN Women. This requires mobilization through common threads, where more women supporting each other create tangible long-term opportunities. <\/p>

Often, politics in the Caribbean appears to operate as an apprentice at a local mechanical shop. An opportunity to show one\u2019s skills only comes when the manager has no choice, or can no longer navigate, then one gets a chance to grow.<\/p>

Unfortunately, holding on to power creates division, disconnect and stagnation in terms of new ideas for advancement, and crating pathways for the next cohort of leaders.<\/p>

In a recent report for CNN, Leta Hong Fincher noted that a \u201cUnited Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union report highlighted that 10 of 152 elected heads of state were women, and men made up 75 percent of parliamentarians, 73 percent of managerial decision-makers and 76 percent of the people in mainstream news media.\u201d Maybe term-limits should be considered and communities across the region must ask themselves if they are better off four years later, or feel safer regardless of party affiliation, especially in poor and developing countries plagued with crime and economic stagnation.<\/p>

More than 50% of women in the labor force have at least a bachelor\u2019s degree, effectively matching the number of college-educated men. According to new research, this does not create leaders, new businesses, or a chance to become role models for the next generation. While not every woman frequently agrees to the same norms, virtue, or values from personal experience, socio-economic equality upward mobility requires collaboration.<\/p>

Presented by Lana Finikin, the Executive Director of Sistren Theatre collective, Co-President of the Latin America and the Caribbean Committee of Non-Governmental Organizations [LAC CoNgo UNCSW] of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. February 11, 2021<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Women\u2019s political participation is critical to fulfilling the potential of democracy. Women make essential contributions to achieving and maintaining peaceful and secure communities, the full realization of human rights, the eradication of disease, hunger and poverty, and the promotion of sustainable development. There is a benefit to all of society when women realize their full […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[80],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/huairou.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/huairou.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/huairou.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huairou.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huairou.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7048"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/huairou.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7048\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7054,"href":"https:\/\/huairou.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7048\/revisions\/7054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/huairou.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huairou.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huairou.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}