The Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) is calling on all women to lead in the effort for greater change and growth while it acknowledges that many women have made much progress towards improving their quality of life in the past century.
In a message for International Women’s Day today, GPSU President Patrick Yarde, on behalf of the General and Executive Council of the union, extended “a heartfelt thank you to all women who are pivotal to the endurance of international movements that preserve justice and equality.”
He observed that “worldwide and here in Guyana the plight of women underlies larger issues of crime, injustice, domestic violence and poverty.” Many fail to realize that several, if not the majority of victims, are female, who oftentimes suffer the most because of their gender, aside from other barriers they face such as race, religion or political views, Yarde said.
The imbalance is even more pronounced, he said, considering that women contribute more than their fair share to the functioning of the Guyanese economy but are denied fair and equal access to the resulting benefits.
The GPSU President noted that despite the progress that many women have made in the past century towards improving their quality of life, many more barriers need to be overcome.
He said that the “union has aspired to create an environment that naturally encourages women to see themselves as equals and feel empowered to fully play their part, but those successes would not be realized were it not for their desire to be involved.” Greater change and growth can only come with increased involvement and vigilance, he added, and therefore the union calls on all women to lead in this effort.
