By MELISSA DASSRATH Monday, July 26 2010

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Women's agenda: CPA delegates exchange pleasantries at the third Regional Conference of Women Parliamentarians on Saturday. From left are Dancia Penn ...

Women politicians from several Caribbean countries met on Saturday for the third Regional Conference of Women Parliamentarians of the Caribbean, Americas and the Atlantic Region of the 35th Regional Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Meeting, at the Parliament Chamber of the Red House in Port-of-Spain.

The Dominican representative Alix Boyd-Knights spoke at the first session about strategies for attracting women into the political arena. She stated progress will be evident when the statistics start to show that 40 to 50 percent of the parliamentarians in the region are women.

Said Boyd-Knights, “Some people say it is more about eradicating a century’s old mindset rather than anything else. That is why even in spite of all the strides women have made, not only in the Caribbean but in the world thus far, we still have to work twice as hard as men.”

While there has been some degree of success for women politicians, Boyd-Knights feels that women need to take greater steps towards advancement: “I don’t think that there is anyone here who will not acknowledge that our region as a whole lags way behind in meeting the millennium development goals as far as increasing the number of women in parliament is concerned.

I recognise that Trinidad and Tobago is getting there probably ahead of other countries, but we still have a long way to go.”

She explained there needs to be more women politicians to advocate for women in parliament. “HIV and AIDS, poverty, low wages, human trafficking, domestic violence, child abuse and other such issues affect mainly women and children. Issues such as these are usually presented by women politicians in parliament. I suppose that is why we find there are more women appointed as Ministers of Social Affairs etcetera.

“The most effective way of seeing to it that these issues come to parliament at all and receive the level of attention that they deserve is to have more women in parliament.”

She questioned the effectiveness of democratic principles if there is institutionalised inequity between men and women in ministerial posts. “Can we really say that democracy is at work in any country where the percentage of women in parliament is disproportionate to the percentage of women in the population? Is it not then a serious anomaly that the very people who claim to uphold our democratic principles seem reluctant to view these principles against a gender background? What could be more democratic than the genders that share the same space of the universe, participating in the political process equally?”

According to her more women need to be at decision-making positions in government. However, she drew reference to the barriers that prevent women from getting into active politics such as salacious stories spread about women politicians as well as self-imposed psychological obstacles based on the experiences of other women aspiring in the political arena.

To overcome these obstacles, Boyd-Knights suggested three strategies she called the three Ms: “Mentoring, motivating and mobilising.”

The delegate leader of Bermuda, Jennifer Smith, addressed the assembly continuing on the same vein of discussion. She emphasised the significance of the role of mentors. “A life in the public service requires a certain spirit.

Some believe that leaders are made not born. I believe that leaders are invariably people who are thrust to the forefront of issues and activities because they possess certain qualities that allow them to seize the moment and grasp at opportunities.”

Smith said mentors often come in the form of family members or teachers who made sacrifices and provided a support system. “All I learned about politics I learned at the feet of a great woman who I followed like a shadow. So I recognise that mentoring is mostly an informal sharing of advice, ideas and history. One day she told me you don’t need a mentor anymore. It is time for you to find your own protegee and thus I began.”

Gisele Isaac-Arrindell of Antigua and Barbuda debated the issue of genderless politics. “My own interpretation of the topic is not to eliminate gender, but to strive towards eliminating a same sex parliament. One where there is no longer a perpetuated differentiation or discriminatory practices.”

She prescribed means of making legislatures genderless by providing personal support services to women politicians.

Isaac-Arrindell said that parliament could be made gender sensitive in terms of language, parking facilities, better security, and a “wife-like” assistant who offers a personalised service to see to their every need.

“These are not luxuries. These are essentials that must be provided to bridge the gender gap.

“And if they are not standard features of the job, then they ought to be. Women’s needs are often an afterthought and unless we recognise these needs and agitate to have them corrected, we will continue to face a disadvantage.” She explained that women serve multiple roles as wife, mother and member of parliament and unless they have support staff that relieves them of some of their tasks, then women will always have a harder time climbing the political chain of command: “A woman is divinely, legally and practically entitled to everything a man takes for granted.”