An overview of the status of women in Jamaica, historical and contemporary. Presented in honour of international women's day as per invitation.

1. The Status of
Women in Jamaica
Taitu A Heron
Manager, Social Development & Gender Unit
PLANNING INSTITUTE OF JAMAICA
Presentation to Kencot Seventh Day Adventist Church
March 1, 2008

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WOMEN AND DEMOGRAPHICS
 50.7 % of the population
 About 85% of African descent
 2% of Indian descent
 3% mixed African and European descent
 3% mixed African and Indian descent
 2% Chinese descent
 4% other mixed
Source: ESSJ 2006; Gender in Caribbean Development, 2004.

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WOMEN AND EDUCATION
 Daily attendance rates were better for girls through out the three levels of the
education system
 At the higher level of the education system, the females were more represented
 Female tertiary level students are over-represented in the humanities and
sciences.
 Females out-performed males at all three levels of the education system
 The survival rates to Grade 5 for the girls have been consistently higher than those
for the boys
 The literacy level is higher among females
 The literacy rates show that for the 75-and-over age group, five of ten Jamaican
women were functionally literate.
 Women practice “self exclusion’ and gravitate to “soft subjects” at the higher levels
of education. Gender socialization in the schools facilitates this phenomenon.
 Despite the numerical advantage in the education system, women are poorly
positioned to command a strong position in the labour market
 Training opportunities offered along gender stereotype lines (rather than labour
market needs): hospitality, customer service, cosmetology, welding, mechanics,
sewing, etc.)
Source: Gender & Achievement in Secondary Education in Jamaica; ESSJ 2005-2006;
Gender Issues in Caribbean Education, ed. Barbara Bailey.

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WOMEN AND POVERTY
 The percentage of female- headed households in the rural areas
in poverty was higher than those in the other towns and the KMA.
 Female-headed household consumption plummeted by as much
as 14 percent in contrast to male-headed households, whose
consumption fell by 1.7 percent
 In the absence of consistent male support/presence, female
headed households face triple burdens: childbearing/rearing,
employment and managing households, they lack the time and
resources needed for them to escape poverty and improve their
employability
 Poor females tend to gravitate towards seeking employment, male
dependency, remittances, commercial sex
Source: The Status of Men and Women in Jamaica, Desk Review, 2005; The National Gender Policy for Gender
Equality and Women’s Empowerment; National Gender Task Force, Gender Sector Plan, 2nd Draft, December
2006; ESSJ 2006.

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WOMEN AND LABOUR
 The female participation rate has been consistently lower than that of
males
 Gender differentials in unemployment were evident with the female
unemployment rate, more than twice that of men. The male
unemployment rate was 7.9 while the female unemployment rate was
16.9.
 Although, women are accessing education more and performing better in
the education system, their access to employment is lower than that of
men.
 Youth unemployment is a major concern, 33% of our youth eligible for
employment are out of work. Young women face higher rates of
unemployment than do young men.
 At the highest level of decision making, whether in on executive boards,
courts or in parliament, women remain a minority.
 Even if women and men have similar trends in educational attainment,
gender norms and stereotypes can result in women acquiring different
levels of education
 Women dominate in the sectors that are less paid and least protected
 Protection provided by unions is still less accessible to women.
 There is no recognition of sexual harassment in our laws
Source: The Status of Men & Women in Jamaica, 2005, NGTF Sector Plan, ESSJ 2005-2006; Youth in Jamaica:
Meeting their Development Needs, NCYD, MOEY, 2002.

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WOMEN AND HEALTH
 Maternal mortality rates have not significantly improved through
the years
 There was an increase in pregnancies among adolescents who
are still at school, particularly secondary (42.2 per cent in 1997 to
48.3 per cent in 2002) and post secondary (from 6.5 per cent to
11.1 per cent).
 The proportion of unplanned pregnancies among younger
adolescents increased to 97.4 per cent in 2002, up from 90.9 in
1997.
 Data from the Ministry of Health show that females access the
public health centers more than the males
 More female children report depressive disorders.
 Females in the age groups 10-19 years and 20-29 years are more
likely than males to be infected with AIDS;
 Married women between age 35-49 are more susceptible to
HIV/AIDs than are prostitutes
Source: ESSJ 2005-2006, MOH Annual Report, 2005

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WOMEN AND ECONOMIC PARTICIPATION
 Because of their domination in the service sectors, women are
more susceptible to external shocks.
 The micro enterprise sector is used as a holding ground for low-
skilled labour-predominantly female and is not currently structured
to contribute to technological or economic growth
 Women earn lower wages than men for the same or similar types
of jobs in the agricultural sector
 Women, especially working class women have been economically
dislocated as a result of globalization and trade liberalization,
restructuring and downsizing in some sectors
 In all parishes, women owned the least amount of agricultural land
 Women often did own account work on agricultural land, or did
unpaid agricultural labour.
 The majority of women who own farms are small holders with an
average farm size significantly smaller than that of the men’s.

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WOMEN AND POWER: RESPONSIBILITIES & DECISION
MAKING (PRIVATE & PUBLIC)
 Predominance of female-headed households &
perpetuation of the triple burden
 Women have an unequal share of responsibility for the
social & emotional development of the family and the
community
 Increase in aggressive/violent displays of power through
domestic violence, child abuse, and gender-based
violence
 Women are a minority at highest levels of decision-
making (ministerial posts and in Cabinet)
 Women are a minority in local government politics

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WOMEN AND VIOLENCE
 Some women play a negative role in “protecting” and “supporting”
the male criminals.
 Increase in sexual violence over the years, women are the
majority of victims;
 Over 60% of female victims of sexual violence below 18 yrs.
 Noticeable trend of young women becoming involved in gun
crimes, gang memberships, etc.
 Rape as reprisal and sexual servitude of young girls to Dons in
organized crime.
 A significant number of cases of physical child abuse cases in
family court are against single mothers.
 A clear relationship does not exist between law reform, public
education and court cases with violence against women and girls.
Source: The Status of Men and Women in Jamaica, Desk Review,
2005; The National Gender Policy for Gender Equality and
Women’s Empowerment;

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WOMEN AND CULTURE
 Many of the gender inequalities persist because of culture:
prevailing beliefs, values and attitudes about roles and positions of
men vis a vis women
 Women as passive, subordinate, emotional, irrational, born to be
led, can’t make our own decisions, should not have control over
own bodies and so on.
 Many of the biases and attitudes that exist towards women are
cultural, based on socialization, religious background and education.
 The very contributors that create the biases are ironically the same
ones that will facilitate a better environment for women to empower
themselves and to fulfill their potential without these “hindrances”.
 Influence of the media on negative gender representations of the
body
 The role of popular culture on gender identities mirrors gender
stereotypical views and promotes hyper-masculinities and female
objectification.
 Discussion of sex and sexuality in a negative light is the norm
 Gender socialization and the development of life-coping skills: girls
are raised to be inside (supervised, given tasks) boys are raised to
be outside (less supervision, less or no tasks) is the cultural norm

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However, with all of those
challenges…..
 Women are still
extraordinary
queens whether as
mothers,
professionals,
wives sisters or
any other hat we
juggle.

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In the tradition of Jamaican Women
Pioneers of our History:
 Queen Nanny of the Maroons
 Mary Clarke
 Mary Seacole
 Nancy Prince
 Una Marson
 Daphne Campbell
 Amy Jacques Garvey
 Amy Bailey
 Gladys Bustamante
 Louise Bennett
 Angela King
 Wytne Patterson
 AND SO MANY OTHERS, NAMED
AND UNNAMED IN OUR HISTORY
BOOKS.

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Dorcas Lee “no ordinary teacher”
 Dedicated teacher for over 30 years (design arts,
spanish and Mathematics to Grades 7, 8 & 9)….in St
Catherine.
Who is this woman: “she has molded young minds,
guided the wayward, mothered hundreds and
enforced discipline and has given soft and tough
love to many”.
Why: “deeply concerned with the development of young
minds and loves the hearts of children”.

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Opal Slater: Chemical Technologist
and Fish processor - Innovative
 Director of her own company, a fish
processing facility – Coral Cuisine
 Utilizes its own formulation of herbs and
spices to produce “jerked smoked fish”.
 She intends to fulfill an under-serviced
smoked seafood market

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Colleen Yearce Williams: Asst VP,
Financial Control, Pan Caribbean
 Pioneering woman in finance and
accounting
 Worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers

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Alaine Barrett: Determined Parent
 Single mother with one son
 Lost her partner to gun warfare while she was
pregnant
 When her child at ten years declared that he
wanted to be a gun man, Alaine doubled her
efforts at the PTA and in her community and now
runs a parenting group in her inner city area. Her
son, at 17 is now a sixth former at a good high
school and wants to “fly Air Jamaica planes”.

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Yanique Henry: Extraordinary heart
of a woman who was raped
 Raped when she was 17 years and took the morning
after pill but still became pregnant. Despite people
encouraging her to abort the child she chose to have the
baby because “is my body so mi jus decide dis way too”.
 Sometimes she looks at the child and hates her because
of what the man did to her but she says she still has to
love her because “de child nuh know how mi can blame
har; so mi jus’ try”.
 Having dropped out of school because of the rape
pregnancy, she is currently an exotic dancer struggling to
“find a better way out by de time de chil reach high
school”.

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Kerine Miller: Young TV Host
blazing a trail (27 yrs old)
 Started her own production company Uber
House Ltd.
 Youngest TV hosts – CVM’s FusionXYZ
 Her TV programme for her is about “changing
people’s mindset, how they think about things
and be able to provide a resolution… and to
positively impact the youth especially children”.
 Other plans: a performing arts troupe for kids, a
kiddies TV show.

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Romelda Aitken: 19 y-o Star
netballer blazing trails in Australia
 National senior netball team goal shooter
 Accepted an offer to play for Australian
Team – “Queensland Firebirds” in semi-
professional league.
 She has played for 3-time JNBS Open
league and 5-time Berger Paints Super
league champions

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Sister Benedict Chung: 60 years of
being a Queen Angel of Mercy
 Affectionately called the Queen of Central Kingston
 She operates the Laws St Trade Training Centre
 She established a feeding and health programmes,
trained youth to be come bakers, caterers and garment
makers;
 Many of us who know of the infamous Green Bay
massacre of 1978, those who survived sought haven at
her establishment.
 Michael Manley said of her “Sister Benedict is one of the
rare human beings whose life exemplify Christianity…by
her very action she proves every hour and every day that
she does love her neighbour as she does herself”.

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Daphne Douglas: first Jamaican woman to
be named Professor (in 1974)
 Dedicated to library science and the
acquisition of knowledge resources
 A pioneer in her field, determined not to be
daunted by gender discrimination, in
reflection she said, “instead of hiding
behind a plea of female discrimination, I
jumped inside the men’s arena,
challenged them and won”.

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Sade Dunbar: Bright and shining
already
 2008 Spelling Bee champion
Zalia McCalla: Top post in Judiciary
 Recently appointed Chief Justice, with 22
years of on the bench, including
international experience

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Jamaican women in conclusion
 Challenged by social, economic, political circumstances
 Nevertheless have proven to be strong, resilient always
striving to go forward
 Yet… with hardships some of us don’t make it
 Some need guidance
 Some need love
 Some need empathy
 Some need respect
 Some need support
 We deserve to live in dignity as human beings

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Because…
 The problems that women face are far from over. Some
are caused by men and sometimes women themselves
make it harder for other women.
 But this phenomenon will begin to fade when we also
value our own worth and promote that value.
 Children help. Sunsets help. Good men help. The beach
helps. Learning about other women help. Meditation
helps. Prayer helps. Connecting with our inner spiritual
power, our Divine connection with the Godess, the
feminine side of God, helps and empowers us all.
Adapted from Marianne Williamson’s A Woman’s Worth.

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Why?
 We are queens. We are
worthy, born of love, and
nurtured in divine
consciousness. She is
integrity and value. She is
no joke. She is all of us.
And we are her. She is
Divine. And so are we.
Nothing less is
acceptable.

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THANK YOU
FOR
LISTENING!!