THE Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) has saluted Guyanese women everywhere as this country joined the rest of the world in observing International Women’s Day on Sunday.
(Below is the full text of the GPSU message)

To the women of Guyana: our mothers, daughters, wives, grandmothers, nieces, aunts and women of the world, I say “Happy International Women’s Day” on behalf of the Executive Council, General Council and members of the Guyana Public Service Union.

As we embark on a new decade and reflect on this year’s theme: ‘I am Generation Equality: Realising Women’s Rights’, we salute you for all the contributions you have made in years past to the advancement of our society. These contributions undoubtedly, are significant in all aspects of our lives and are central to the development and progress of Guyana as a nation. Women often times wear the hat of caregiver, homemaker, breadwinner, teacher, educator, healthcare provider, citizen and public servant. However, I would be remised if I didn’t highlight that many of the struggles of today’s generation of women are the same struggles of women from years past.

Women are often times mothers and care givers in the home while working one or more jobs outside of the home to help provide for their families. This is done with enormous sacrifice often times to the detriment and neglect of themselves. Yet, women of Guyana, though being the largest part of the labour force, have the vast majority of lower paid jobs in the public service with approximately 60 per cent being numbered among the employed poor. While the women of Guyana receive equal pay for equal work, there needs to be better alignment between equal job opportunities and professional advancement based on equal education and job experience.

Equality implies partnership not replacement. In the quest for equality, women aspire to participate meaningfully and steadfastly towards the advancement of society. Nonetheless, if you look at Guyana and across the world, women are still fighting for the right to have or keep a seat at the political table in order to be a part of the political discourse from which many decisions and laws are being made which affects women’s rights. While women have fought for and earned the right to vote, there is still a need to eradicate the deficit in women’s roles in government. For example, as recently highlighted in the 2020 general elections presidential and prime ministerial candidates of which only a few were women.

Education is a right not a privilege. Yet in many societies throughout the world, women are held back to tend to the home while the men are encouraged and supported to educate themselves. This disparity between men and women fosters sexism and creates a breathing ground for many other atrocities that women face including domestic violence. When you take away a woman’s right to an education, you take away her independence, self-confidence and power. Within the Guyanese society, it should be applauded that many women are today being afforded a right to an education and are capitalising on this opportunity as they seek a higher education.

The union has been in the vanguard of creating an environment that encourages women to empower themselves, to excel in every sphere of endeavour, and to attain heights and success that were beyond their forebears. The accomplishments have been many and the union is proud of the role it has played in facilitating the achievement of their goals as we champion their rights.
We must commend our women who work in the health services, public services, teaching services, security services, rice, sugar, gold, bauxite, and timber industries. The union salutes all of those women who are employed in the food, beverage and hospitality industries; who satisfy our needs in the many municipal markets across the country; and who choose to make the sacrifice to remain at home to raise the up-coming labour force and the next generation of leaders.

I implore all menfolk to stand with today’s generation of women as they demand the right to an education, overall equality in the work place and a presence in the leadership of communities and in government. Women play a significant role in providing the labour force of the future, while at the same time they are a major contributor to the labour force of today. As such, they should be treated equally and fairly and their rights should be recognised and respected. To you our women, we, the Executive Council and Members of the Guyana Public Service Union say a heartfelt thank you for your contributions to this nation. We owe you an enormous debt of gratitude.