Caribbean Parliamentary Workshop Promotes Gender-Responsive Legislative Approaches
Today marked the conclusion of the Caribbean parliamentary workshop on “Making the Work of Parliaments Responsive to the Needs of Women and Men.” This three-day event, held from December 4-6, 2024, brought together parliamentarians, civil society representatives, and experts from 11 Caribbean countries. Organized by ParlAmericas, the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago, the UN Women Multi-Country Office for the Caribbean, and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the workshop aimed to enhance parliamentarians’ capacity to adopt an inclusive and gender-responsive approach to their legislative responsibilities.
Over three days, participants engaged in interactive exercises, policy dialogues, and thematic working sessions addressing the application of a gender lens in parliamentary oversight, legislative processes, workplace practices, and constituency engagement. These sessions facilitated the exchange of good practices to address the diverse needs of women, men, and marginalized populations and foster inclusive and representative practices across parliament’s work.
The workshop also laid the groundwork for a forthcoming gender equality guide for Caribbean parliamentarians, providing practical strategies and references to ensure that diverse experiences are accounted for, with specific attention to the most marginalized, across various dimensions of parliamentary work. The creation of this tool responds directly to a request from parliamentarians inspired by the gender equality protocol for judicial officers developed by UN Women, the Caribbean Court of Justice, the Caribbean Association of Judicial Officers and the JURIST Project, which was presented at the Multi-stakeholder Dialogue on Gender Equality and Sustainable Development in Gros Islet, Saint Lucia on October 31-November 1, 2023.
The Honourable Bridgid Annisette-George (Trinidad and Tobago), Speaker of the House of Representatives and Vice-President of ParlAmericas
“As parliamentarians, our duty is to serve the diverse needs of the Caribbean’s vibrant and multicultural populations. Factors such as gender, age, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity intersect to shape unique challenges and opportunities across the region. Adopting an inclusive approach to legislative work is not just beneficial—it is mandatory.”
