Jamaica to Host Inter-Parliamentary Workshop on Gender Equality

Strategies to remedy gender inequality and engage men as partners in tackling gender-based discrimination in the region are among the issues to be discussed at an Inter-Parliamentary Workshop on Gender Equality to be held at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel on January 24 and 25.

The event, to be held under the theme, ‘Partnerships to Transform Gender Relations’, is a collaborative effort of the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport; the Jamaican Parliament; and ParlAmericas, an inter-parliamentary association with membership across North, Central and South America and the Caribbean.

It will involve the participation of parliamentarians, non-governmental organisations, and gender experts from countries such as Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Speaking at a Jamaica Information Service Think Tank held today (January 17) at the agency’s head office in Kingston, Clerk to the Houses of Parliament, Heather Cooke, said plans are advanced in the preparation for the workshop.

She said that the event provides an opportunity for parliamentarians, along with civil society, to engage in dialogue and discuss actions to deal with the gender equality issue.

“When they go back, participants are expected to strengthen systems within the Parliament that will encourage dialogue on gender affairs and how to treat with gender balance,” she said.

Mrs. Cooke stated that there will be a closing session and a press briefing with the Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, at the end of the workshop.

For her part, Director, Policy and Research, Bureau of Gender Affairs, Sharon Coburn Robinson, said the Ministry is “extremely ecstatic” to partner with the Houses of Parliament on the initiative.

“For years we wanted to sensitise parliamentarians. This is a part of our mandate coming out of… the National Policy for Gender Equality,” she added.

She noted that one of the areas of the Policy is to “sensitise our parliamentarians, so that they understand the importance of legislation and the impact it has on gender equality, and that they are not just aware but they are engaged strategically”.