Georgetown,
GINA, July 10, 2003
Government
is fulfilling its mandate to women
In 1995, the National Policy on Women revealed
that women in Guyana represented 50.8 percent of the population,
and 58.8 percent of the Public Service. This ratio remained
constant even though the majority of these women represented
the informal economy.
The number of men working in the wholesale /retail trade was
slightly larger than women in that industry, but women dominated
in education and hospitality management in contrast to construction,
public administration, health care, business and manufacturing.
Government made commitments to develop and implement programmes
that specifically impact women, and has set up a network with
non-governmental organizations that focuses on women’s
issues, to include women in the local and national decision-making
processes.
The Administration has also made a commitment to inform the
public on the importance of taking cognizance of gender issues
in all facets of life.
Against this backdrop, policies regarding this valued gender
are based on the fact that women’s rights are human
rights and women need to develop equitably alongside their
men-folk.
In the Policy paper, all forms of violence against women are
unacceptable, and the urgent need to eradicate all forms of
discrimination against women in the society is also highlighted.
Through the various Ministries, Government has made a commitment
to develop policies and programmes to realize these goals,
and three major institutions were established to ensure that
women’s rights are addressed. These include:
1). The Women’s Affairs Bureau
2). The Inter Ministry Committee and
3). The National Commission on Women
Through the Women’s Affairs Bureau (WAB), a five-year
action plan has been formulated to mainstream women’s
issues and network with Non-Governmental women’s organizations.
Such corroboration will be to formulate plans to improve the
status of women, strengthen the capacity on Non-Governmental
women’s organizations and to promote public awareness
and sensitivity to gender issues.
The five-year plan outlined the need to address women in leadership,
women in the economy, violence against women and women in
decision-making.
The Guyana Women’s Leadership Institute (GWLI) established
in 1997, was geared to contribute to the advancement of women
in Guyana. The National Resource and Documentation Centre
was also established with the development of women in mind.
This Centre acts as a facilitator in the promotion of women’s
development. The resources of the NRDC and the GWLI are now
being extended to a number of Hinterland Regions. In this
way, the concept of women’s development is broached
so that balance in the accessibility to resources is generated.
A commitment on the part of Government has resulted in women
in Hinterland areas having increased access to training, information
and improved standards of living today.
At present, some 116 teachers from various hinterland communities
are eligible for participation in the certificate programme
at the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE).Statistics
also show that today, more women are exploring opportunities
for personal development, and mothers are accessing opportunities
for non-traditional training.
At the teacher Training Institute, more females than males
have graduated from that institution. Recently, more persons
from the Hinterland Regions are accessing teacher-training
opportunities.Training institutions have since taken a different
approach in their delivery of training opportunities to remote
areas.
Through the Inter-Ministry Committee, Permanent Secretaries
have a responsibility to implement policies and programmes
for their own Ministries. They are also mandated to ensure
that women are not being discriminated in any form in the
work environment.
Guyana is a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination
of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Guyana
has also made the protection of Women’s rights legal
through the National Commission on Women, Gender and Equality.
The National Commission on Women will promote gender issues
and act as an advisor to Government on women’s issues.
The objective of the policy is to improve the status of women,
which will result in an improved quality of life for the entire
society. The circumstances of women have changed drastically
over the past eight years, and as a result, more women are
represented at the Regional and Local Government levels today
than in 1995.
There has also been an increase in the numbers of women in
Parliament over the last eight years. Women now represent
over 30 percent of the members of Parliament as against over
18 percent in 1998.
Government, through its programmes, has targeted the development
of women and implemented the necessary infrastructure to ensure
steady progress in this area.
The National Commission on Women and the Women’s Affairs
Bureau have begun consultations on the National Policy on
Women. This process will provide an opportunity for women
to contribute to policy decisions for their development and
best interest.
The Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security
continues to address women’s issues in rural and urban
areas. New emphasis has been placed on the Hinterland areas
where access to certain facilities were limited if not non-existent.
They have established Regional Women’s Desks so that
women’s interests may be targeted.
Through the Difficult Circumstances Unit (DCU), a large number
of women, especially single parents, receive financial and
food support.
The Ministry has also provided millions in uniform material
and textbooks.
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