Tesi Johnson, Gleaner Writer
In Jamaica women have made tremendous strides. Mrs. Simpson Miller won the presidential race for president of the People's National Party. - IAN ALLEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
AS THE spotlight turns on women this Wednesday, International Women's Day will reflect on their achievements based on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The MDGs came out of a United Nations declaration in 2000 to assist countries around the world progress in human development. The eight goals that are to be met by 2015, range from eradicating poverty to fighting HIV/AIDS. One of these were designed specifically to promote gender equality and empower women.
In Jamaica we seem to be on our way to achieving this objective. "Jamaican women are very resilient, and they push for what they want," notes Faith Webster, acting director of the Bureau of Women's Affairs. This is one reason she says, Jamaica has made strides towards achieving the targets of MDG 3. "Though we have done better than many other countries of the region (Latin America and the Caribbean), we still must not become complacent lest we loose what we have gained. We still have a long way to go to meet the 2015 deadline, so we must aim to progress further," she adds.
For goal 3, Jamaica has already met the target to make education at all levels, equally available to both sexes. This target has been surpassed as females now boast higher enrolment at the secondary level, which becomes even more pronounced at the tertiary level. "What we now need to look at is the level of male underperformance," says Mrs. Webster, "as the goal aims for equality, not disparity in favour of any sex," she adds. She also notes that though the literacy rates for women now supersede that of men, social factors still contribute to low employment rates for women.
LEADERSHIP AT HIGHEST LEVEL
Another indicator for female empowerment is the proportion of seats held by women in the national Parliament. Jamaica now boasts seven out of 60 seats, a 13 per cent holding, up from three seats, just 5 per cent in 1990. The presidential post in the ruling party is now held by a woman, who is poised to take up the role of Prime Minister.
The Jamaican government has shown a fair level of commitment to achieving gender equality. This include a comprehensive review of 42 pieces of legislation, including a section on Jamaica's constitution, to bring them in line with international convention and treaties to which the Government is committed, that relate to gender equality, as described in the Jamaica MDG Report 2004. According to Mrs. Webster, the lobbying of the bureau and other non-governmental women organisations have significantly contributed to fight to improve the life of women islandwide.
