Can gender parity be achieved by 2030?

Mar 08, 2017 News

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-W&GEC hosts roundtable discussion to determine possibility

International Women’s Day is today. It is being observed under the theme, ‘Women in the

Changing World of Work; Planet 50-50 by 2030’.
Yesterday, the Women and Gender Equality Commission (W&GEC) hosted a roundtable discussion to examine whether or not this is possible.
Even with Guyana attaining a commendable 33.8 percent of female representation in the National Assembly, achieving gender parity still requires much more work.
Dr. Barbara Reynolds, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Planning of International Engagement, at the University of Guyana, carried out a very informative presentation. To put it simply, she said, “yes,” gender parity can be achieved, but first, “We need to ask, in what do we want parity…50-50…do we want it in voice? Do we want it in respect? Do we want it in pay? Or work? Or votes?”
Dr. Reynolds, addressing a packed auditorium at the Carifesta Sports Complex, recognised that a woman verbalizing her opinions is the first step to achieving gender parity.
“Obviously, not every opinion will carry sway, but unless we voice our opinions, we are in fact, doing ourselves a disservice and undermining the very principles and aspirations we hold so dear,” Dr. Reynolds said.
She explained that even the accomplishments that have been made by women in the workplace have to be deciphered. She gave an example involving the Soviet Union.
“The reason why so many doctors in the eastern bloc and the Soviet Union are females is because the men have moved out of those fields and have gone into hard science.”
Dr. Reynolds opined that because the men vacated something and the women moved in, there

was nothing to celebrate about. She sought to bring the example much closer to home, by highlighting the large number of older Guyanese women working as security guards all across the country.
“Someone said to me a few weeks ago, that it was great that we have so many security guards on campus, but you see, the reason we have so many female security guards is, one, they can’t find anything else to do, and two, the men have vacated the profession, so they can get money by going into the interior,” Dr. Reynolds said.
She went even further to add, “Even when we think we have something to celebrate, we need to unpack it and understand, why is it we are where we are. It is not just what happens on the surface.”
The educator also touched on parity in the home. She spoke specifically to the Members of Parliament attending the event, including Audwin Rutherford, Junior Infrastructure Minister, Annette Ferguson and Chairperson of the Women and Gender Equality Commission, Indranie Chandarpal.
Dr. Reynolds indicated that the home today is not just a mother, a father and children. It oftentimes comprises a single mother struggling to make ends meet, or a mother young enough to be regarded as a child.
“Parity in the home has got to be unpacked…Parliament, in terms of gender budgeting, has got to take cognizance that the home is not a monochromatic structure…home is different things, to different people, under different circumstances, and all of this must be taken into consideration.”
Dr. Reynolds also lent her voice to the day to day issues plaguing Guyana, and how many of these may affect women differently than they affect men. The constant power outages became an example.

“On Sundays, I wash a bundle of sheets and towels, and I run up and down the stairs, because of our wonderful change in climate…I pick up and I hang out, and I pick up and I hang out…but here’s the thing, I have a dryer, but I’m never sure when there will be electricity…So that work that was supposed to be lighter… When GPL (Guyana Power and Light) takes our light on Saturdays or Sundays, how are we going to dry our clothes?” Dr. Reynolds queried, taking into consideration, the unpredictable weather.
“I work five days a week. I go to Church all day Saturday, and on Sunday, I do housework. I am a Guyanese woman, born and bred,” Dr. Reynolds declared.
“I don’t have a problem with GPL per se. I’m just simply saying that in everything we do, we need to understand how it affects women differently from men.”
Her points were supported by the second speaker, Lawrence Lachmansingh, Chairman of the Justice and Peace Commission and the Roman Catholic Church in Guyana.
Meanwhile, First Lady Mrs. Sandra Granger, in her address, shared her belief that gender parity can possibly be achieved by 2030.
“I believe that with behavioural change, determination and serious concerted action, we can become a healthier, more educated, more confident and productive society. We can then achieve gender parity in not too distant future,” Mrs. Granger said.
She emphasised the need to ensure that the access to education is also equitable.
“Our entire population must be educated to understand the long-term implications of gender disparity. We must be bold for change. We must speak up and speak out against injustice. A comprehensive countrywide campaign should be launched to socialise our women and men, girls and boys so that they recognise and desist from behaviours, which harm us individually, collectively, socially and economically,” Mrs. Granger said.
The discussions were decorated with cultural presentations including spoken word poetry from the Jazz and Poetry-on-a-stool artists.

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