The Gender Policy
The principle of gender equality is enshrined in the Trinidad and Tobago (1976) Constitution. Government has ratified international agreements which provide the framework for the advancement of women. These include -:
- The Beijing platform for Action
- The UN Declaration of Human Rights
- The Nairobi Forward Looking Strategies
- The Convention on the Elimination of all Discrimination against Women
Who
Gender concerns men and women. Improvement in the status of women does not mean deterioration in the status of men. New directions open up new possibilities for men and boys, widens the options for personal fulfillment and for new patterns of interaction with women and children.
What The Gender Policy Got To Do With Me?
Plenty! No matter who you are. A gender policy is not for women only. The point of the policy is to achieve fairness for all people by dealing with their differences. Think about who we are — Grannies, Fathers, Teen fellas, Baby girls, Secretaries, Construction workers, Teachers, Home makers, Vendors. We can’t have true equity by treating everyone the same. How are we different? Well, let’s look at education.
Women who are illiterate have a lower chance than illiterate men at getting a job. On the other hand, certain social factors make boys less likely than girls to finish their secondary education. A gender policy would lead to the development of an education system that caters to both men and women and distributes educational resources to equally benefit both sexes. At the end of the day the gender policy will affect how citizens treat one another and how the state treats the people, irrespective of their gender and other differences.
Why?
- To improve the quality of life at all levels of society
- To improve relations between women and men
- To influence state policy in all areas
- To facilitate legislative change
Education - A Gender Agenda
- Distribution of Educational resources to equally benefit men and women
- Transformations of gender hierarchies in education
- Empowerment of women through Education
- Shared participation in decision-making
- Activities in Education Policy
- Construction of education infrastructure that facilitate men and women
Facts
- Most of the population who are unschooled are females
- Females dominate tertiary education —72% Vs. 38.2% males
- Males dominate the more prosperous energy and industrial base sectors
- Options for young men are greater than for young women who do not successfully complete formal education
- Women are still excluded from most of the skilled trades
- Ideological and discrimination factor as incentives for less boys to complete formal secondary education
- Illiterate men have more opportunities for employment than illiterate women
Directions
- Gender Equality — women and men must enjoy the same educational opportunities and benefit from the results
- Gender mainstreaming — integrating a gender equality and equity perspective into all the main education activities at the policy, programme and project levels
- Gender Sensitivity — promote the use of gender-sensitive and gender-inclusive language in educational material
Employment - A Gender Agenda
- Gender audits on hiring, promotion, separation, conditions of work, salary and gender equity issues
- Gender sensitive rather than gender neutral macro economic policy on employment
- Equal pay for equal work legislation Equal opportunities for women at all employment levels
- Minimal representation of women with relevant skills and expertise on state board
- Childcare and homework centres at workplace
The Facts
- Women comprises the majority of the unemployed
- Illiterate men have more opportunities for employment than illiterate women
- Women get jobs mainly in the lower professional categories
- Long-term unemployment is a greater problem for women than for men
- More men are in paid and self-employed than women
- Employed males exceed employ females in every category
- Women earn less than men in all categories
- No equal pay legislation exists.
- Few women are on executives of Trade Union, fewer have executive power
Health - A Gender Agenda
- Develop programmes for disease prevention to meet specific needs of men and women
- Equip Health facilities to deal with leading causes of death for males and females
- Improve gender impacts of the private health care system
- Introduce female and family friendly birthing procedures and practices at hospitals
- Sensitization programmes for women on sexual and reproductive health Upgrade and improve access to primary health care facilities
- Improve health education promotion programmes on primary and preventive care
- Train health professionals in gender sensitivity to reproductive and sexual health, breast and cervical cancer, male prostate cancer, male reproductive health and STDs
The Facts
- More males (41.8%) rate their health as excellent or very good than females (31.4%)
- More females (25.2%) are affected by disability or infirmity than males (18.7)
- Females suffer higher rate of hypertension (28.1%) than males (18.2%)
- More females (50%) than males (33%) have high blood pressure.
- More males are involved in leisure type exercise (16.6%) than females (5.9%)
- More women suffer morbidity, disability and perceived ill health.
- Women have higher rates of obesity and do not exercise regularly
- Rising incidence of communicable diseases, such as TB and HIV/AIDS among women.
- The number of women at risk of transferring HIV to a child in increasing dramatically
Law Reform - A Gender Agenda
- Revise the gender-neutral language of the law.
- Monitor payment of minimum wages.
- Review all social security legislation to ensure gender equity.
- Monitor and execute investigations of complaints to the Ministry of Labour
- Establish the Equal opportunity Commission and Equal Opportunity Tribunal.
- Enact of laws that provide for equal pay for work of equal value
- Enact anti-sexual harassment legislation.
- Institute specialized court procedures for the treatment of sexual harassment sensitive to privacy of victims and accused
Laws To Revise
- The National Insurance Act, 32.01
- The Widows’ and Orphans’ Pensions Act - to include women
- The Industrial Relations Act (Chap.88:01) - to recognize domestic workers and facilitate representative unions to pursue remedies in the Industrial Court for harsh dismissal.
- Basic Conditions of Work and Minimum Wages Bill - to improve who operate at the lower end of the workforce and are non-unionized.
- Review laws on equal opportunities - to remove any potential for gender discriminatory practices including those I living with HIV/AIDS
- Revise the Maternity Protection legislation-to bring in line with the new ILO Convention to remove eligibility requirement of continuous employment with a single employer for a period of twelve months and the limitation that paid maternity leave should not be available in two consecutive years