IN observance of International Women’s Day, the Ministry of Social Protection on Friday awarded several women for their sterling contributions to society.

The event was held at the National Cultural Centre and was attend by government ministers; First Lady, Mrs Sandra Granger; Acting Chancellor of Judiciary, Yonette Cummings and several other dignitaries.

The evening was one of celebration and the promotion of gender balance. In her remarks to the attendees, Mrs Granger spoke about the fundamental rights and freedom of an individual as enshrined in the Constitution. “Every person in Guyana is entitled to the basic right of a happy, creative and productive life, free from hunger, ignorance and want. The right includes the fundamental right of freedom of an individual,” the Constitution says.

In keeping with the 2019 theme ‘Balance For Better’, and referring to the above mentioned excerpt from the Constitution, the First Lady said that “we must demand gender parity, and achieve gender equality to empower all women and girls. We must see the active implementation of legislations on issues that affect their lives, and we must recognise that focus have been made in several areas.”

The First Lady said there needs to be more women in fields such as engineering and agriculture. She said equal avenues of training must be made available for both men and women, especially in non-traditional sectors. “It is in this regard that our education sector ought to be in the forefront of the kind of reform that recognises the skills required for employment in the twenty-first century … It is imperative that our girl children be

encouraged from the earliest age, to become actively involved in STEM and robotics and be on the cutting edge of information and communication technology,” the First Lady said.
Similarly, Minister of Social Protection, Ms. Amna Ally said, “Government has encouraged and continues to invest in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) education as an important and critical pillar of development, especially in the light of Guyana’s ‘green’ state development strategy”. Minister Ally opined that there is need for a collective approach to advance gender parity in Guyana. “Today I call upon all, to let us synergise our efforts and work together, because despite elaboration and extensive work undertaken by both government and civil society organisations in terms of legislation, institutional frameworks, lobbying by feminists, and massive investments to raise awareness on women’s human rights, there are still huge deficits in the actual enjoyment of women’s social, economic and political rights,” she said.

The Ministry of Social Protection, she said, continues to play a vital role in facilitating the economic empowerment of women through the Sustainable Livelihood Entrepreneurship Development Programme (SLED) and The Guyana Women’s Leadership Institute.

United Nations (UN) Resident Representative, Ms. Mikiko Tanaka, said internationally, recent studies show that while the gender balance is fairly equal at the lower levels of employment, as women climb the ladder disparity exists. “Women’s representation declines higher up the ladder, their chances of rising to leadership positions are only 28 per cent and the gender pay gap stands at 23 per cent globally,” Ms. Tanaka said. She added however, that while women representation in parliament averages 23.7 per cent globally, it’s 32 per cent in Guyana.

Meanwhile, eleven women from the Disciplined Services and social sector ministries were presented with awards which were distributed in the “Young Woman of Influence” and “Trail Blazing Woman of Influence” categories. The recipients of the “Young Woman of Influence Award” are Ms. Jewel Sullivan, Deputy Superintendent (Guyana Police Force); Ms. Towana Wilson, Senior Statistician and IT Consultant (Guyana Prison Service); Ms. Melissa David, Section Leader (Guyana Fire Service); Ms. Michelle Smith, Secretary (Ministry of Public Health) and Ms. Tanisha Williams-Corbin, Coordinator, Counter Trafficking in Persons Unit (Ministry of Social Protection).

While the recipients of the “Trail Blazing Woman of Influence Award” are Ms. Maxine Graham, DSM, Deputy Commissioner; Ms. Olivia Cox, Superintendent of Prisons, Ms. Jacqueline Green, Deputy Chief Fire Officer; Ms. Ruschelle Williams, Senior Personnel Officer (Ministry of Public Health); Ms. Samantha Williams, Assistant Chief Education Officer (Nursery) and Ms. Karen Vansluytman- Corbin, Assistant Chief Labour Officer (Ag). (Ministry of Social Protection)