Jamaica News, January 25, 2018 (Mckoy’s News)
Kingston, Jamaica (Mckoy’s News) – Women Leadership: Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Denzil Thorpe, says the Government to taking steps to achieve greater gender equity in the society, particularly with regards to leadership positions.
“It is urgent that we address this situation of women’s leadership because it is clear that when women are excluded, by whatever means, from top leadership, they are denied power to make a difference in the world,” he said.
He was speaking at the opening of the ParlAmericas Inter-Parliamentary Meeting at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on Wednesday (January 24).
Mr. Thorpe argued that despite gains in every profession, women remain under-represented at all levels of leadership. He said that former United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, in one of his final speeches before leaving office, noted that there are still five countries in the world where not a single woman is represented in Parliament, and seven countries without any women in the Cabinet.
Mr. Thorpe said that while the Americas have made better progress, there is much more to be done, noting that in Jamaica, for example, out of 84 parliamentarians, only 16 or 19 percent are women.
Women Leadership: He called on men to support efforts towards achieving gender equity, as they stand to benefit in numerous ways. He pointed out that equality ensures that everyone benefits from the skills, ideas, and dreams of the whole of humanity, not just one gender or a particular group.
“Men benefit when women advance and there is real gender equality. There’s an overwhelming body of evidence showing that undeniable connection between women’s economic participation and prosperity. Wherever the situation of women has improved, the overall economic condition in the country had improved as well,” he added.
Women Leadership: Mr. Thorpe cited the McKenzie Global Institute Report published in 2016, which found that advancing women’s equality could add between US$12 trillion and US$28 trillion to the global gross domestic product by 2025.
That represents a net economic effect roughly equivalent to the size of the combined Chinese and United States economies.
“Research also shows that gender equity is good for companies as well. The more gender-equal companies have higher rates of retention, higher job satisfaction and higher rates of productivity,” Mr. Thorpe said.