Female parliamentarians are set to participate in a one-day hybrid Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) Regional Conference on Women’s Political Parliamentary Leadership today (July 12) at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel.

Minister of Gender, Culture, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange, who made the announcement in Parliament on Tuesday (July 11), said that the conference seeks to sensitize female parliamentarians on the proper functioning of a parliamentary women’s caucus by way of expanding on previous work done in workshops over the last year.

Grange said that the Parliament has been awarded a grant valued at J$1,900,000 from the CWP Regional Strengthening Fund (RSF) to cover financial arrangements to successfully host the conference. She also noted that the required technical direction for hosting the conference will be provided by the ministry.

The grant is set to cover costs associated with the venue, meals, speakers/presenters, equipment, stationery and printed materials, decor, photography and entertainment.

“The conference, which will be conducted in a hybrid format, with in-person participation by eighty local attendees and remote overseas participants, is expected to facilitate meaningful exchanges among approximately three hundred parliamentarians, women councillors, leaders in the private and public sectors and youth leader from nineteen branches in the CAA [Caribbean, Americas and Latin America] region. Provisions will also be made for self-funded non-Jamaican CWP members who wish to attend the in-person conference,” Grange said.

The CWP is a branch of the Caribbean Parliamentary Association, which is mandated to promote the representation of women in CPA branches and women’s full and equal participation in all political and parliamentary leadership at all levels.

Grange noted that with the establishment of a Bicameral Caucus of Women Parliamentarians, there is room for greater participation of women in the political and parliamentary processes in Jamaica.

“The conference will also sensitise non-parliamentarians about the legislative process and explore how women’s issues may be promoted in the legislature and identify how legislation can be used to protect women and vulnerable groups in the Caribbean society,” she said.

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