Study makes policy recommendations to bring about change desired for women in Jamaica

The Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) plans to unveil tomorrow its latest study on the wage gap barrier to women’s empowerment.

The report, titled The Business of Care: Boosting Productivity by Supporting Workers’ Care Obligations, assesses the gender wage gap in Jamaica with reference to its intersection with the care economy. The study makes policy recommendations that, if implemented, could bring about the change desired for women in Jamaica to make greater progress, particularly economically.

The study by CAPRI was undertaken with support from the European Union.

CAPRI will unveil the study at an online report launch and panel from 8:00 pm to 9:00 pm GMT-5  via YouTube here, Twitter (@CAPRICaribbean), or CAPRI’s website, capricaribbean.org.

Dr Kelly-Ann Dixon-Hamil will deliver a presentation which looks at the gender wage gap and its impact on women’s empowerment. 

Following the presentation, Dr Diana Thorburn, director of research at CAPRI, will moderate a panel discussion, where she will be joined by the presenter and Ronaldo Blake, research assistant at CAPRI.

The researchers in their report acknowledged that “women are still generally poorer than men in Jamaica. Among the several reasons put forth for women’s continued inequality to men in Jamaica, one that continues to keep women from advancing to the level of their male counterparts is the gender wage gap. Women are more likely to be in vulnerable forms of employment, and less likely to be in leadership positions, both of which can contribute to women’s continued disadvantage, particularly with regard to the gender wage gap”.