DR. PAUL Robertson, Minister for Development with responsibility for gender affairs yesterday launched a 15-member Gender Advisory Committee (GAC).
Dr. Robertson said that the committee would be making recommendations for the ongoing review of existing policies concerning gender equity and recommending research areas for new issues.
The minister was speaking at the official launch of the GAC at the Hilton Kingston Hotel.
"The Gender Advisory Committee has an important responsibility," he said. "It is a responsibility that will strengthen our resolve as Jamaicans to address the gender imbalances as part of a development agenda and to work towards gender equality in a shared partnership by key stakeholders in society and the Government."
He said that the GAC would also oversee the preparation of an updated Gender policy, which he hopes will address discrimination against women and men, and ensure that their full potential is enhanced for development.
GENDER EQUALITY
Dr. Glenda Simms, executive director of the Bureau of Women's Affairs in explaining the need for the GAC said; "The Bureau of Women Affairs is the central part of the mechanism for gender equality in the country. So, this is an enhancement of the role and strengthening of the national machinery, which is a plan to which the Government committed itself in Beijing."
At the 4th world conference on women, held in Beijing in September 1995, governments agreed to a UN declaration and platform of action to safeguard and promote the rights of women worldwide.
This meant taking action to eliminate discrimination against women and to promote women's equality and human rights. There was a review of the Platform of Action earlier this year.
Professor of Gender and Education at the University of the West Indies and chairperson for the GAC, Dr. Barbara Bailey, said that in the development of the National Gender Policy, the GAC would be reviewing and analysing existing data to determine the relative status of women and men in the society.
This information, she said, would then be used in the sectoral consultations, out of which it is anticipated that the proposed policy would emerge. Dr. Bailey said that the GAC has been appointed for two years and has a 12-month timeframe to develop the policy.
