The work in progress

THE OUTCOME of the US election has been heralded as an important moment for women and minorities.

The result, however, does not let us off the hook when it comes to our own efforts to advance the rights of both in our region.

Those under the illusion that a single election outcome – as symbolically important as it is – is reason to rest on their laurels would do well to consider the history of the US itself.

In 2008, after a movement for change took Barack Obama to the White House, some commentators breathlessly declared the dawn of “post-race” US politics.

Four years of Donald Trump have proven otherwise. Not only did Mr Trump repeatedly demur when asked to condemn white supremacists, he courted their support. It won him more votes.

In contrast, Joe Biden preached a message of unity and inclusion. His running mate Kamala Harris broke glass ceilings as a woman, an African American and a person of mixed Jamaican/Indian descent. Mr Biden is also the oldest president-elect in US history, a victory against ageism.

But as much as this gives the world reason to hope, the election result as a whole is also a warning.

History will record that while Mr Biden won the largest number of votes of any American president (76 million), Mr Trump achieved the second-highest tally (71 million).

Mr Trump’s record on race, his mismanagement of covid19, his autocratic tendencies – none of it stopped him from making gains on his 2016 performance.

Back then, Mr Trump defeated Hillary Clinton, notwithstanding lewd remarks about grabbing women as well as an infamous characterisation of Hispanics as rapists. Last week, more Hispanics embraced him.

Just as was the case with Mr Obama and African Americans, the fact that women in the Caribbean have broken glass ceilings in politics has not meant they do not continue to face challenges.

As Ms Harris’s victory was being celebrated, in her father’s homeland of Jamaica, Lisa Hanna failed in her bid to become only the second female leader of that country’s People’s National Party after Portia Simpson-Miller.

Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s tenure at the helm of the United National Congress here is about to undergo a further acid test next month, following defeat in a general election that saw this country fail to cross the 30 per cent threshold for female representation in the House.

Outside Parliament, women face violence, harassment and lower pay.

Such issues are just part of the Caribbean’s engagement with a range of pending human rights matters which include moves for same-sex civil unions and the need to address the plight of refugees.

What all this shows is that change is a slow process, and we still have much work to do.