THE Women and Gender Equality Commission (WGEC)’s five-year strategic plan (2021 – 2026) has highlighted the need for a series of collaborative and strategic partnerships to support the overcoming of challenges that the Commission continues to face, such as limitations in financial and technical resources.

The 2021 – 2026 plan, the Commission noted, was preceded by the 2013 – 2018 plan, and while much was achieved under it, the challenges were three-fold and included inadequate technical and financial resources; Guyana’s terrain which made it difficult to reach underserved communities and a political climate that does not always place gender justice at the front of the agenda.

“To mitigate these challenges, the new plan embraces both a top-down and bottom-up approach, where networks of support will be strengthened to enable the Commission to purposefully and efficiently execute its constitutional responsibilities for a gender just Guyana,” the WGEC highlighted in its latest plan.

Having faced several challenges in the past in achieving its goals, the WGEC has noted in its report that the achievement over the next five years is significantly linked to collaborations with several other stakeholders.

“Although the resources are inadequate, the importance of collaborative engagement is one of the key learnings which the Commission has thrived on,” the organisation said.

The WGEC is a pivotal stakeholder in the promotion of social justice in Guyana, with the Commission being the constitutional national authority for the promotion of women and gender equality in Guyana.

“Along with the government, this mandate is also pursued by several other non-governmental and civil society agencies. The plan, therefore, outlines a series of collaborative and strategic partnerships to support the efforts of the Commission,” the plan detailed.

Constitutionally, the mandate of the Commission is to promote national recognition and acceptance that women’s rights are human rights, as well as the respect for and protection, development and attainment of gender equality.

The WGEC advocates for gender justice within both the legislative and policy environment to increase equality in opportunities for women. With increased gender equality tied to increased Gross Domestic Product, a focus on gender and social justice is considered an important part of supporting the developmental economic trajectory Guyana is currently on.

Ultimately, this plan serves as a roadmap for implementing the Commission’s vision to advance gender justice within a framework of social justice.

“This strategic plan is an indication that the Commission is committed to upholding the full rights of women in advocating gender justice. Our Commission looks forward to a Guyana where gender and social justice become a norm,” Chairperson Indra Chandarpal commented in the report.

Chandarpal is one of a total of 15 commissioners that oversee the work of the WGEC.

Notwithstanding significant development, women in Guyana still face a considerable number of challenges in advancing in society.

“While significant progress has been made in Guyana, patriarchal norms, religion, social and cultural attitudes, and the challenging economic situation constitute obstacles to the achievement of full gender equality,” the report noted.

The plan consists of two primary objectives, along with five goals with clear outputs and outcomes, and is built around five pillars.

“The Commission has conducted internal self-assessment and consultations. Hence this plan is shaped in part by our strengths and weaknesses as well as the expectations of our stakeholders.

The strategic plan is being built around a framework for social justice. Gender justice is an integral part of this plan,” Chandarpal said.

The five pillars of the plan are access to justice; human rights; equity in economic development; participation in decision making on gender and social justice issues and access to health and social services. The pillars outlines how the Commission intends to execute its mandated functions over the next five years.

The plan also noted the need for institutional strengthening to build the capacity of the staff and commissioners and capacity building.