You are here: Home / Women's Leadership

Advancing Women's Leadership

Current initiatives geared towards increasing women's leadership in Jamaica.

Strengthening Women’s Leadership in Jamaica

Under a programme funded by the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF), WROC executed a training programme ‘Strengthening Women’s Leadership in Jamaica (SWLJ)’, which was designed to address concerns highlighted in a Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) funded gender research project that showed that little progress has been made in the last decade for women serving on boards and commissions in Jamaica. Training sessions were conducted with ninety three ladies for appointment to public and private sector boards and commissions as well as school boards. A database with the profiles of the 103 ladies trained was later developed and a printed publication was presented to key public and private sector organizations/leaders.

Resources

WROC maintains a database of professional women who have been equipped to serve on boards of governance through the SWLJ training programme between 2010 and 2011. The database includes women drawn from a wide range of sectors and industries. WROC can assist organizations who are seeking to identify suitable candidates for boards of governance.

Candidate Search Form - If you are looking for a woman to serve on a board of governance in Jamaica, fill out this form. Based on the information you provide, WROC will then provide you with profiles of suitable candidates and will facilitate your contacting them.

Candidate Enquiry Form - If you have already viewed the database publication and would like to request contact information for a particular candidate or candidates, fill out this form.

51% Coalition: Development and Empowerment through Equity

The 51 % Coalition is an alliance of women’s organisations and individuals that has been formed to advocate for quotas. Quotas constitute an affirmative action that seeks to correct the inequality in women ́s participation in political activities and decision-making. Quotas which lead to increased numbers of women in decision-making and to the inclusion of gender perspectives in national policy are critical. They are the most effective way of moving towards gender balance and to strengthen the organization, voice and solidarity among women.

The Coalition was launched in November 2011 and comprises 11 partner organizations and 3 individual members and will continue to work towards increasing public awareness on the importance of quotas in advancing women’s leadership. Quotas are central to the conversation about economic development, and to recognizing “gender equality as smart economics” (2012 World Development Report on Gender Equality and Development).