In the coming weeks, officials from the Territory will convene virtually with counterparts from CARICOM associates and member states to engage in consultations on the draft CARICOM Regional Gender Equality Strategy.
The consultations series, facilitated by the CARICOM Secretariat, commenced on Tuesday, July 26 and brings together Senior officials from Ministries of Gender, Education, Health, Labour, Environment and Finance from the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Guyana and Suriname during this first round of activities.
The Strategy, titled “Stepping It Up: A strategy to achieve gender equality in the Caribbean Community”, makes a point of CARICOM’s commitment to strengthening the promotion and practice of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in the region.
It explores seven areas of focus, namely: gender equality and social inclusion, freedom from violence, economic empowerment; good governance; access to health services; inclusive quality education and sustainable natural resource management.
The strategy aligns with international frameworks such as the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Beijing Platform for Action, the Sustainable Development 2030 Agenda, and the CARICOM Gender Equality Policy, which aims to strengthen the capacity of the CARICOM Secretariat to champion gender equality and empowerment of women.
It is anticipated that the ongoing consultations will help ensure that the Strategy is inclusive, participatory and reflects the input of the wider Caribbean Community before it is processed for finalisation.
The consultations will end on July 29th.