CiWil applauds female candidates in election

The TT chapter of the Caribbean Women In Leadership (CiWil) organisation is celebrating the fact that 30 per cent of the candidates contesting the upcoming general election are women.

In a release, it said 45 of the 150 candidates selected across the 19 political parties are women. It said it was also noteworthy that three of the political parties are female-led. It said this ratio meets the minimum threshold established globally for norms and standards in leadership and political participation, aligned to the 2011 UN General Assembly resolution on women’s political participation.

Globally, Trinidad and Tobago ranks 50th in the representation of “Women in Politics”. CIWiL said while this is commendable, women still face socio-economic and cultural barriers to their equal participation. CIWiL therefore calls on political parties and decision makers to introduce policies and strategies to remove the barriers that deter women from entering politics.

CIWiL also notes with concern, the limited availability of sex disaggregated data on women’s involvement and participation in politics.

“The absence of this data makes it difficult to assess election participation or develop appropriate evidence-informed responses and policies needed to increase women’s leadership and involvement in politics and decision making. We therefore call on the government of Trinidad and Tobago and state actors such as the EBC, to ensure that data linked to the conduct of elections are available and accessible.”

It said the equitable inclusion of women from diverse backgrounds in politics and decision making is an important factor to achieving gender equality. This promotes democratic governance in political and public life in keeping with international commitments - Beijing Platform for Action, UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 indicator 5.5 and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), - to which TT is a signatory.

"CIWiL invites all stakeholders to collaborate in support of achieving a more just and equitable society, in which women are more involved in the decision-making processes that impact their lives. This is even more critical given the economic and social development challenges stemming from the ongoing covid19 pandemic."