NATIONAL CONGRESS OF WOMEN SYMPOSIUM IN OBSERVATION OF INTERNATIONAL WOMENS DAY NCW HEADQUARTERS, 15:00 HRS, SATURDAY, 8 MARCH 2014

THEME: UNFINISHED BUSINESS TIME FOR ACTION Presentation on Support Womens Leadership and Influence by Sandra Granger

Happy International Womens Day! Ms. Cheryl Sampson, National Chair, National Congress of Women; Ms. Genevieve Allen, National Secretary, National Congress of Women; Members of the National Congress of Women; Distinguished Guests; I would like first of all to thank Ms. Cheryl Sampson, National Chairperson of the National Congress of Women and the Members of this organisation for affording me the opportunity to share my views on the topic, Support Womens Leadership and Influence. I am also honoured to participate in this Panel Discussion under the theme, Unfinished Business Time for Action, on a day and date marking one century since the first International Day for Women was celebrated back on 8 March 1914. We have come a long way since then, but the struggle continues. To paraphrase a popular saying, we still have many promises to keep and miles and miles to go before we sleep. We, as women, have been conditioned from birth to play a supporting role in the lives of our families, our menfolk, our communities, our workplaces and our countries. We have been good at it, too, and have been encouraged to continue in this mode. But with improved access to education and careers outside the home, our burden or lets be nice our responsibilities have increased exponentially. This organisation, the NCW, in all its manifestations as the Womens Auxiliary of the PNC, the Womens Revolutionary Socialist Movement and now the National Congress of Women has played a vital role in supporting and promoting the political, social and economic development of our country

and its people. Indeed, women have been, and continue to be, active in the struggle for equal rights and justice. Landmark stages in the development of women have been marked, inter alia, by the Convention on the Political Rights of Women (1953); the United Nations First World Conference on Women in 1975 and the subsequent UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979); the CARICOM Charter of Civil Society, Article XII of which enshrines Womens Rights.; the goals pertaining to women in the UN Millennium Development Goals; and the recognition that policies aimed at womens development must take into account the complex nature of womens role in the eco nomic, social and political development of their communities and their countries. Any discussion on Womens Leadership and Influence has to recognise women as wives, mothers, daughters, grandmothers, professionals, etc., with attention being paid to vulnerable women in these groups, such as single female heads of household and teenage mothers. For make no mistake, regardless of the type of work they do as a guard, teacher, lawyer, nurse, secretary, manager, policewoman, soldier or supervisor - women remain the primary care-givers and nurturers in the family. They are the ones who also make the decisions about how the money is spent so much on food, on clothing, on transportation, on utilities and so on, and make the decisions on the education of the children. Other important elements in this mix must be womens access to affordable healthcare and their sense of safety and security as they go about their daily lives. All of this forms the backdrop against which support for Womens Leadership and Influence must be addressed. The experts have noted that when women participate in decision-making, they play a key role in the formulation and mainstreaming of gender equality policies. They can also have an impact on peacebuilding and socio-economic development. In my research for this presentation, I looked for data relating to what women in Guyana have achieved so far. I have been able to find out that in Guyana, we have made some progress in respect of womens participation in the National Assembly, with representation of slightly over 30 per cent: we have increased from 11 women in the Third Parliament to 21 women in the Tenth. And I wonder, if women comprise about half of our population, why not aim for fifty percent participation?

We have so far not had a single woman elected as Speaker. Women have, however, managed to serve as Deputy Speaker Ms. Clarissa Riehl (2001-2011) and Ms. Deborah Backer (2012-2014), with Ms. Backer having to withdraw prematurely due to ill health. (Mrs. Janet Jagan was the first female Deputy Speaker, serving in the Legislative Council of British Guiana back in 1953.) In preparing for this presentation, I tried to access data on womens participation in various aspects of professional life here in Guyana and must confess that some data are not as up-to-date as I would have wished. I understand that the statistics for Guyana for the regional census of 2010 have not yet been made official. In this regard, in examining selected senior level positions in government, I got census information up to 2000 which indicated that not one woman has served as Head of the Public Service, Governor of the Bank of Guyana, Commissioner of Police, Chief of Staff of the Army, Director of Prisons, or Director of Statistics. 1990 figures reveal that four women were permanent secretaries out of a total of 22 and in 2000, there were three out of a total of 15. In post-independence Guyana, we have had one woman serving as Chancellor of the Judiciary and one as Chief Justice. (This one woman, Hon. Justice Desiree Bernard, was the lone woman serving on the Caribbean Court of Justice and recently retired from that position.) In 2000, there was one female judge in the Court of Appeal of a total of six; one in the High Court of a total of eight; and among other judges, one of three. No woman had served as Solicitor General, Assistant Solicitor-General or, until recent years, as Director of Public Prosecution, though one had been appointed Supreme Court Registrar by then. By that time too, four women served as magistrates two out of a total of three principal magistrates, and two out of a total of ten magistrates other than the Chief, Principal and Senior Magistrates. And it is not for lack of the requisite education or experience, or even the number of women serving in the positions selected above. Hence the need for supporting Womens Leadership and Influence. But increasing the number of women participating in positions of leadership will not necessarily lead to more effective participation in, and influence on decision-making. Mechanisms must be put in place to help women seize the tools of education and their social, economic and political empowerment. Those powerful organisational, communication and mobilisation skills used during election campaigns, for example, must be used to provide women with the opportunity to participate in decision-making at the local and national levels. They must be encouraged to engage in debates affecting their daily lives for example, good roads, access to healthcare and education, crime and domestic violence, the impact of 3

the VAT on the price of food, cooking gas and clothing and thereby influence decisions and policies on these issues. Through these, they can support womens leadership and influence in the political process. At this juncture, I would like to recognise the valiant efforts of those women who participate in the parliament and in their local and regional democratic councils and strive to improve the lives of the people in their respective communities. Studies indicate that women politicians do not only need financial resources, they also need the support of powerful individuals, groups and networks to advance their careers and to establish and widen their political bases. Without these, they will not be able to attain real political power. Support is therefore needed from men, our organisations, our church and social groups, to advance women leaders and issues relating to the well-being not only of women, but our society as a whole. Our country cannot achieve balanced and sustainable development if the needs and desires of women, who represent a half of our population are ignored. How do we provide support for Womens Leadership and Influence? In sum, by Acknowledging the integral role we play in the development of our communities and our nation; Informing ourselves about the issues that affect us as persons, in our groups, our communities and our nation; Assessing our status, determining where we want to be and devising ways of achieving our goals; Participating in activities at the community and national levels, whether it be in church or social groups, neighbourhood and regional democratic councils, National Assembly, or national and international organisations; Educating and training ourselves and our sisters so that we can build confidence and more actively influence and participate in decision-making; Knowing who our leaders are and supporting their initiatives, and letting them know that we are watching them to see how issues important to us are being addressed; Empowering ourselves through social and economic development;

Encouraging new ways of doing business in key institutions, e.g., the Police Force, and how it deals with crimes including rape and domestic violence; government offices and private corporations and how they handle the needs of working mothers;

Taking advantage of the power gifted to us by advances in information and technology, such as our cellphones and Facebook. That way we can be better informed faster, share information more quickly, advance our interests and hold our leaders accountable.

I believe that in this way we, as women, will increase our self-confidence, gain influence and provide meaningful support to our leaders, and our women leaders, in particular. Let our voices be heard. Thank you. ******* SMG, 08/03/14

Ex. CARICOM Charter of Civil Society ARTICLE XII-Women's Rights For the promotion of policies and measures aimed at strengthening gender equality, all women have equal rights with men in the political, civil, economic, social and cultural spheres. Such rights shall include the right: (a) to be elected or appointed to Public Office and to be eligible for appointment to positions of decision-making bodies at all levels of their society; (b) to be afforded equal opportunities for employment and to receive equal remuneration with men for work of equal value; (c) not to be discriminated against by reason of marital status, pregnancy, lactation or health-related matters which affect older women; (d) to legal protection including just and effective remedies against domestic violence, sexual abuse and sexual harassment.