Dr Kris Rampersad in the News
Caribbean women want gender-sensitive decision-makers
by
Thu Jul 07 2011
Kris Rampersad
Adequate maternity and paternity leave for parliamentarians and increases in women's representation in cabinets, parliaments and local governments to a minimum of 30 per cent, and where this has already been achieved to 50 per cent. These are among some 17 recommendations to regional and global governments in a communiqué from regional women leaders which also asks that political parties include a minimum of 40 per cent of either sex on their lists of candidates for parliamentary and local government elections and senatorial appointments. The communique titled the Port-of-Spain Consensus on Transformational Leadership for Gender Equality, was drafted at the Caribbean Regional Colloquium on Women Leaders as Agents of Change held in Port of Spain on June 29 and 30, 2011.
The women leaders are also recommending that governments and political parties:
• Develop and implement initiatives that facilitate women's full participation in all internal party policy-making structures, appointments and electoral nominating processes;
• Review of the criteria and processes for appointments to decision-making bodies in the public and private sectors to facilitate increased women's representation;
• Gender-sensitive leadership training programmes for men and women, including young people who are preparing to assume or are in decision-making positions in the public and private sectors;
• And provision of resources to national gender/women's machineries so they can effectively implement, monitor and mainstream commitments on gender equality.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has already announced the report would be presented at a fringe meeting of global women leaders on the eve of the UN General Assembly in New York in September and the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Australia in November.
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