Projects and Activities
Engendering Political Participation in the OECS

Jan 10, 2005, 08:36

This project is one component of the Caribbean Policy Development Centre’s programme on Democratic Governance and Popular Participation. The project seeks to increase the number of women in political office, whether in local or national government systems in Barbados and the OECS and thereby ensure that gender awareness and sensitivity is brought to the policy decision making processes of the sub-region. The project therefore focuses specifically on two aspects of skills training: successfully political campaigning and gender sensitive policy making. The project targets women who have already made public their determination to serve in political office. Participants to the skills training and skills enhancement workshops have therefore been women already in Parliament, women political candidates, women in Local Government, women in leadership positions in the political parties, women involved in Constitutional Reform, women in the leadership of gender justice organisations and directors of national gender bureaux.

Financial support for this project has been led by the Canada Caribbean Gender Equality Programme Barbados office, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Jamaica Office, and UNIFEM Caribbean Office. Tools resources for the successful campaigning segment of the training workshops have been developed by the Trinidad and Tobago Network of NGOs for the Advancement of Women. Technical support and tools development for the gender sensitive policy making aspects have come from the Centre for Gender and Development Studies, St. Augustine Campus. A number of experienced women Parliamentarians were key resource persons to the workshops.  National Bureaux of Gender/Women's Affairs facilitated the selection of participants, and the collaboration of political parties have made this programme possible. Further training and a media campaign are being planned.

As a result of 7 training workshops held between August 2003 and November 2004, 110 women, including young women, in Barbados, the OECS and Jamaica have gained increased confidence, awareness and capacity to pursue elective politics. There is an increased awareness, understanding and commitment to advance and agenda for gender equity and equality, and Caribbean civil society can better advocate for their governments to increase the percentage of women in positions of political decision making.  More details of this programme and the training resources may be obtained from the FES Jamaica web-site, CPDC web-site, and CPDC Caribbean Beacon 2004, as well as CAFRA News January-June 2004.