Permanent Secretary Rudder: Gender equality matters

 

Achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls, is one of the seventeen United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to which Barbados is fully committed.
 
 Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transport and Works (MTW), Simone Rudder, pointed out the above this week, as she addressed female students gathered from secondary schools across the island, as the Ministry hosted a Gender Equality Workshop at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, designed to get more females interested in taking up more technical jobs in the Ministry.
 
“Why does gender equality matter? you may ask. Well, gender equality matters because it is a fundamental human right and it is an instrument for development in three important ways,” Rudder pointed out.
 
 “Firstly, by enhancing productivity. Women represent 40% of the global labour force, so productivity will be raised if our skills and talents are fully used,” the PS stated.
 
 “Secondly, by improving development outcomes for future generations. Access to more resources, including education and jobs, can enhance countries’ growth prospects by changing spending patterns in ways that benefits children (for example, through education and health),” she added.
 
 “And the third reason that gender equality matters, is because it makes institutions more representative and includes women in decision-making positions. In this way policy choices can be crafted to better respond to women’s needs,” she also pointed out.
 
 Rudder went on to state that when it comes to gender indicators, the country still shows high levels of inequality between men and women.
 
 “Women and girls represent over one half of Barbados’ population in the key work years of 25 to 64 years of age. Therefore, in an equitable situation, women and girls should represent over one half of Barbados’ potential. Unfortunately, this is not yet the case,” she said.
 
 Since women are under-represented in the infrastructure sector as part of the labor force, Rudder told the youth, developing the conditions to help them access this sector will result in better and more stable jobs and, therefore, improve their lives and the lives of their families. (RSM)

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