(St. Lucia Times) – The CARICOM Secretariat launched a series of consultations on the draft CARICOM Regional Gender Equality Strategy (CRGES).
The consultations began on Tuesday 26 July 2022.
Senior officials in Ministries of Gender, Education, Health, Labour, Environment, and Finance from Guyana, Suriname, the British Virgin Islands, and the Cayman Islands were expected to participate virtually, in the first of a series of national and regional consultations on the Strategy.
The Strategy has seven areas of focus and aligns with international frameworks including 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Platform for Action, and the Sustainable Development 2030 Agenda.
It also aligns with the CARICOM Gender Equality Policy which aims to strengthen the CARICOM Secretariat’s capacity to champion gender equality and the empowerment of women by working with Member States, international and regional development partners.
The seven priority areas are gender equality and social inclusion; freedom from violence; economic empowerment; good governance; access to health services; inclusive quality education and sustainable natural resource management.