MINISTER of Human Services and Social Security, Dr Vindhya Persaud, has said that Guyana remains a country consistently dedicated to achieving gender equality and affirmed the government’s commitment to women’s empowerment.
The Minister made these remarks on Wednesday, during a national conference hosted by the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, in collaboration with the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China and the United Nations in Guyana, that brought together local and international partners to reflect on Guyana’s progress, achievements, and challenges in advancing gender equality.
The forum also sought to identify priority actions to accelerate women’s empowerment in line with the Beijing+30 Action Agenda, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the Women, Peace and Security Regional Agenda.

The Minister, while delivering the feature address, noted Guyana’s journey toward gender equality has been marked by three decades of persistent and consistent work by advocates, legislators, and community leaders.
She noted that the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which was adopted by 189 countries in 1995, revolutionised the way the world looked at women and the way women saw themselves.
Reflecting on the progress made since then, she said the country has worked tirelessly to strengthen its legal and institutional framework to promote gender equality and protect women and girls.
Recalling legislative highlights from the 1990s, Minister Persaud said, “In 1996, we had the Sexual Offences Act of Guyana. We were one of the earliest countries to have that piece of legislation. In 2024, I had the privilege of taking the Family Violence Act to Parliament, and that Act, which is a robust piece of legislation, has been repealed and replaced. It gives us the distinction of having that piece of legislation as the only one of its composition and character.”
She said these legislative milestones are supported by a comprehensive policy framework that addresses gender-based violence, family welfare and social protection.
“We have a Gender-Based Violence Framework and Policy, a Family Violence Policy, and we will soon amend the Sexual Offences Act of 2010 to introduce a sex offenders’ registry,” she stated.
Dr Persaud also highlighted the Women’s Innovation and Investment Network (WIIN) programme, which has trained over 90,000 women across all ten administrative regions in various disciplines, free of cost. “This is direct investment into the empowerment and education of women,” she said. “We are seeking to ensure that women have financial independence, because that leads us to tackle a deeper cause [of] gender-based violence.”
Noting the importance of inclusion, she said men and boys must be active participants in the movement toward equality. “To really get to the root of the problem, we must not exclude men… We must focus on men and boys as much as we focus on women and girls, because we all make up the same world.”
Meanwhile, representing the Chinese Embassy, Counsellor Li Hanqing commended Guyana’s efforts and reaffirmed China’s commitment to global co-operation in advancing the status of women.
He recalled that in October, Chinese President Xi Jinping and First Lady Peng Liyuan hosted the Global Women’s Summit in Beijing, where President Xi called on nations to “carry forward the spirit of the Beijing World Conference on Women” and to promote a new and accelerated process for women’s all-around development.
Against this backdrop, the counsellor said that over the next five years, China will deepen its global partnerships by donating an additional US$10 million to UN Women, allocating US$100 million under the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund, and launching “1,000 small yet beautiful” livelihood projects across the Global South with women and girls as priority beneficiaries. He said 50,000 women will also be invited to China for exchange and training programmes.
“The pursuit of gender equality is a great yet arduous cause,” the Counsellor said.