Senator Lisa Jawahir says movements toward increased gender equality and equity must start at the society’s highest offices. She says the government has adopted the United Nation’s 5th Sustainable Development Goal which is to achieve Gender Equality.

“Since assuming office, this SLP Government has implemented legislative frameworks that seek to improve coverage through social protection programs such as the Youth Economy, which shows a significant percentage of female participants benefitting from a grant to boost their small businesses,” Senator Jawahir says.

The government Senator says Saint Lucia can tap into greater economic prosperity if women are given the opportunities to work and own businesses.

She says the government must adopt a multifaceted and comprehensive approach to narrowing the gender equality gap.

“If countries like ours prioritise this agenda by closing the gender equality gap by 20% by 2025, the world would see a US $5.3 trillion increase in economic growth,” she explained.

Jawahir explained that the Women’s Parliamentary Caucus aims to achieve public awareness and improve the attitudes towards gender equality.

“While we continue to pave the way to achieve gender equality in Saint Lucia through the empowerment of our women, one area that we note is lacking is public awareness initiatives and legislative strengthening, that directly address the roles our women and men can equally play to challenging restrictive social norms in the community and especially at the Parliamentary level.”

In 2022, Saint Lucia passed the revolutionary Domestic Violence Bill, considered the most progressive domestic violence legislation in the Caribbean.