By D. Alissa Trotz
Alissa Trotz is editor of the
In the Diaspora Column.
In the last two weeks, there has been a robust and outraged response by individuals and various organizations (SASOD, Citizens Against Rape, Help & Shelter, GRPA, Red Thread, ChildLink Inc., GAWL) to the abysmal lack of gender representation on the newly formed boards. The Guyana Human Rights Association issued a statement in which they drew public attention to the fact that “although the Government has only announced the full membership of 20 out of the 32 boards thus far, only 18% are females which represents 22 persons out of a possible 125; and of that figure, one woman serves on three boards and another on two. Both women are employees of the Ministry of Finance.”
The newly elected administration has since indicated that it will likely be revisiting the question of appointments and the criteria for selection, and it is a good thing that they appear to be responding to the concerns raised by the public. Vigilance is key and we need to hold those elected officials accountable. Just yesterday, the Guyana Chronicle reported that according to the Honourable Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson, the National Task Force will be holding its first meeting later this month. Headed by Major General (rt’d) Joe Singh, of the named members so far, there is not a single woman but we hope that women have been invited and that they will also be asked to join and to name others to join them.
There have been several lively exchanges on this issue, including in social media, about whether Guyana is better or worse on these questions than other countries. Some have even asked, ‘well, where are all these women that you expect to sit on these boards?’, implying that the issue is that they simply do not exist. In response, five women got together and brainstormed for just an hour with pencil and paper, to come up with a list of names that was subsequently added to overnight by a few other women and that is offered today for our readers. To be clear, this list was never meant to be exhaustive or without mistakes. It represents Guyanese women who are predominantly professional, middle-class, and Georgetown-based. The list does not always sufficiently identify the specific competencies that individuals might bring to particular boards. Most importantly, we want to emphasise that none of the women whose name appears here was approached by those who came up with the list, so we cannot speak to their interest or availability. We offer this list as one starting point, and in the hope that it will encourage others to add to it, widening it, ensuring regional, age, racial and ethnic diversity. As readers can see from the over one hundred names listed below, it is not a question of there not being enough women in Guyana to sit on the boards. It seems ridiculous to even have to say this, but then who would have expected, in the aftermath of an electoral campaign that appeared to emphasise gender justice, that the announcement of nominees to boards would have been so badly skewed?
Next week’s diaspora column, written by historian Nigel Westmaas, begins by emphasizing that “for the Cummingsburg Accord to work it must reject the old political culture and focus on national unity, no matter how difficult the process, as a key ingredient of its political and social mission.” It is in that spirit that we offer the names below, reminding our readers and the new administration that the prohibition of gender-based discrimination is guaranteed by the Guyanese Constitution:
“Women’s participation in the various management and decision processes whether private, public or state shall be encouraged and facilitated by laws enacted for that purpose or otherwise” (Article 29).
“Every woman is entitled to equal rights and status with men in all spheres of political, economic and social life. All forms of discrimination against women on the basis of gender or sex are illegal” (Article 149(F(1).
“Every woman is entitled to equal access with men to academic, vocational and professional training, equal opportunities in employment, remuneration and promotion and in social, political and cultural activity” (Article 149(F(2).
Valerie Alleyne-Odle – economist
Emily Allicock – businesswoman/administrator/indigenous
Paulette Allicock – researcher/ leader/ indigenous peoples
Anasha Ally – businesswoman
Susan Allsopp – businesswoman
Sadie Amin –lawyer
Andaiye – gender advocate
Renuka Anandjit – administrator/youth peer educator/gender
Annette Arjoon – businesswoman/sustainable development
Barbara Atherley – educator
Joycelyn Bacchus – gender advocate
Sara Bharrat – writer
Dawn Gregory – lawyer
Anna Benjamin – historian
Myrna Bernard – educator, social scientist
Carol Bishop – educator
Carole James Boston – lawyer
Karen Boyle – microbiologist
Andrea Brathwaithe – businesswoman
Jennifer Bulkan – dentist
Kathlyn Burch-Smith small business
Allison Butters-Grant – businesswoman
Paulette Bynoe – scientist
Gomin Camacho – environmentalist/youth leader
Mena Carto – administration/ Pharmacy
Indranie Chandarpal – women’s rights/ administrator
Iris Chin-See – medical practitioner
Marie-Anne Cholmondeley – management specialist
Renata Chuck-A-Sang – businesswoman/engineer/gender advocate
Pat Coates – businesswoman
Karen Van Sluytman Corbin – labour unionist/gender advocate
Liz Cox- insurance executive
Marlene Cox – education (science)
Maxine Cummings – agronomist
Karen Davis – mass communications
Angelique Degroot – businesswoman
Pere Deroy – gender and development
Karen DeSouza – gender advocate
Denise Dias – businesswoman
Emily Dodson – lawyer
Jocelyn Dow – businesswoman/sustainable development
Desiree Edghill – mass communications
Merlene Ellis – artist/businesswoman
Louanna Fernandes – businesswoman
Nicolette Fernandes – sports
Desiree Field-Ridley – economist
Carole Fletcher – scientist
Yolande Foo – economist
Dawn Fox – scientist
Ameena Gafoor – businesswoman, literary critic
Laura George – indigenous rights
Roxane George – lawyer/judge
Sara Gordon – health promotion/Health Education specialist
Joan Green – small business development
Evelyn Hamilton – economist
Natasha Hamilton – banking
Beverley Harper – businesswoman
Elisabeth Harper – foreign affairs
Bonita Harris – educator
Derry Harry – medical practitioner
Keisha Holder – scientist
Melissa Ifill – political scientist
Janice Imhoff – medical doctor/writer
Lisa Insanally – businesswoman
Janice Jackson – psychologist/educator
Leila Jagdeo – educator
Donna Ramsammy James – businesswoman
Melinda Janki – lawyer/human rights
Joyce Jonas – educator/author CXC textbooks/student guides
Jocelyn Josiah – communication and media specialist
Halimah Khan – gender advocate
Iman Khan – businesswoman
Christine King – businesswoman
Sandra Kurtzious – lawyer
Claudette La Bennett – retired judge
Patrice La Fleur – programme administrator / social work
Jean La Rose – indigenous affairs
Veronica Langford – businesswoman
Margaret Lawrence – mass communications
Gem Madhoo-Nascimento – cultural producer
Omattie Madray – child advocate
Dr Priya Maharaj Simone Mangal – geologist, oil & gas specialist
Nichola Marcus – gender advocate
Cynthia Massay – physiotherapist, administrator
Maureen Byrne Massiah -Educator
Ayanna McAlmont – lawyer
Sabine McIntosh – disability rights advocate
Akima McPherson – artist
Maureen Marks-Mendonca – writer
Shirley Melville – businesswoman/indigenous peoples
Merle Mendonca – human rights /administrator
Michele Ming – optometrist
Sherlina Nageer – public health
Sonia Noel – designer/businesswoman
Paloma Mohamed – sociologist/educator/cultural producer
Sarah Parris – banker
Schemel Patrick – mass communications/ youth affairs
Bernadette Persaud – artist
Annalise Fraser Phang – businesswoman
Laureen Pierre – educator/historian/indigenous peoples
Karen Pilgrim – Veterinarian/Sports Organiser/Administrator
Patricia Plummer – banker
Chelauna Providence – community youth facilitator
Danuta Radzik – Women’s affairs
Vanda Radzik – gender advocate/sustainable development
Colleen Reis – businesswoman
Gail Robinson – insurance executive
Tabitha Sarabo-Headley – youth organiser
Pat Sheeratan-Bisnauth – public health; religion
Josefa Tamayo – artist
Raquel Thomas Caesar – forest ecologist/ gender advocate
Sabanto Tokoroho – social work/indigenous culture
Marilyne Trotz – administrator, conference management, linguist
Sheila Veerasammy – gender educator/ manager/social work
Caitlin Vieira – mental health
Nisa Walker – businesswoman
June Ward – administrator
Wintress White – gender advocate
Josephine Whitehead – lawyer, human rights/women’s activist
Charlene Wilkinson – educator/linguist
Joycelyn Williams – economist
