Walking the talk for women

Dr Gabrielle Jamela Hosein

I COUNTED nine women and 20 men in PM Stuart Young’s Cabinet. This tells us that the shift from an older generation of men to a younger one doesn’t necessarily gain us any greater commitment to gender parity, a concept which refers to the equal contribution of women and men to every dimension of life, whether private or public. Incidentally, only one of 29 Indian women have the least access to national decision-making in comparison to other groups of women and men.

Given that, prior to being sworn in, Young came out batting on women’s issues, and congratulating TT on women’s leadership, cabinet decisions are where "the rubber hits the road" or a moment of truth.

I’m typically sceptical of speeches because as (then minister) Young himself put it at International Women’s Day celebrations at the Diplomatic Centre on March 7, actions speak louder than “lip service to something at the moment and at a point in time as opposed to who is prepared to walk the talk and ensure that our women are respected, that our women are provided with levels of leadership that they deserve, and levels of support that they deserve.”

We know that women are the “strong, independent, vibrant, intelligent backbones” of our society, but as valuable as this role is, the majority seem to be stuck there.

Cabinet appointments are not the same as women’s promotion in the public service to the position of director or permanent secretary, which is based on individual effort, meritocracy and years of service, and is earned. It is not the same as a range of other positions which are primarily but not only symbolic, such as president, president of the Senate or speaker of the House, which do not have the decisive power, authority and resources attached to the Cabinet as an executive arm of the state. It is not that these do not matter, but apples are not oranges.

Feminists also continually ask us to consider how it is that women can “dominate” UWI graduating numbers for the last 30 years and yet still be so excluded from political power. This resilient glass ceiling says everything about male headship as naturalised in our society, and the fact that women need far more than qualifications to access the privileges, or glass escalator, which accumulates more men at the top while we tell ourselves it must be because they are more deserving.

So, where does TT rank in the world? The “Women in politics: 2025” map published by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and UN Women presents data up to January 1, 2025, after a slew of significant elections across the world. Globally, women represent 22.9 per cent of cabinet members heading ministries. There are only nine countries in which women hold 50 per cent or more of the positions of cabinet ministers leading policy areas.

At the top of the list in terms of the share of women cabinet members who head ministries, with 50 per cent or more, are Nicaragua, Finland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Estonia, Andorra, Chile, Spain and the UK, in that order.

In Nicaragua, 64.3 per cent of cabinet appointments are women. As of March 17 in TT, it is 31 per cent. Dominica with 38.5 per cent, Guyana with 35.3 per cent, and Jamaica with 33.3 per cent are ahead of us, ranking 30th, 40th and 45th respectively. Despite having the iconic Mia Mottley, Barbados is at 31 per cent, which is where TT was before yesterday, then ranking 55th.

I’m not easily swayed by state-media biographies, press features or platform kudos on #acceleratingaction because measurable advancement of gender justice is a priority in my own conception of what development should accomplish, or else half the society remains both unequally burdened and unequally benefiting.

Currently, the words being used to describe the global achievement of gender-equal cabinets are “glacial,” “alarming,” “stagnating,” “backsliding,” and “unfulfilled.” More women don’t necessarily mean more gender-sensitive governance, but numbers still matter in righting historical inequity.

Given their vastly unequal access to supremacy, men have greatest responsibility for gender parity, particularly in relation to nominations and appointments over which they have command and especially in relation to ministerial posts. This isn’t a women’s struggle, it’s a sign of men’s principles and political will, and more real than promises.

I remain hopeful as one must. However, for no partisan reason and based solely on the numbers, as we commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, each of us might deliberate what exactly there was in Monday’s historical moment to celebrate.

Diary of a mothering worker

Entry 552

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