Director of the Centre for Gender and Development Studies at the University of the West Indies, Jamaican Barbara Evelyn Bailey has been selected as the recipient of the Ninth CARICOM Triennial Award for Women, 2008.
The Award was introduced in 1983 to recognize and honour Caribbean women who have made significant contributions to socio-economic development at the national and regional levels.
The Caricom Secretariat at Turkeyen said in a press release that Bailey has distinguished herself in the field of education, gender studies and research.
She has been and continues to be a strong advocate of gender equality and equity through her teaching and research activities.
The eminent Jamaican scholar, the release said, holds a baccalaureate degree in Botany, Zoology and Microbiology, and a Diploma, Masters and PHD in Education.
Her work in gender and education has made a distinctive contribution to educational practice and curriculum development, especially in relation to gender, the release added.
At the regional level, Bailey has served as advisor to Caricom on several occasions, including at the meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women which acted as the Preparatory Committee for the UN Special Session on Women at the United Nations headquarters, New York, in March 2000.
She was also consultant to the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) charged with the responsibility to develop and implement a curriculum for a regional gender training programme and to evaluate and publish a set of training modules.
She was also a Member of Caricom’s Gender Mainstreaming Task Force in 2001 and served on the Regional Advisory Committee on Gender Matters.
At the national level, she has served as Chair of the National Gender Advisory Committee appointed by the Government of Jamaica to develop a strategic and comprehensive policy for achieving gender equality and social justice and provide direction, coordination, integration and monitoring of gender mainstreaming activities of the government.
Bailey is also the author and editor of numerous books, journal articles and presentations at several academic conferences.
The first award was made in 1984 to Nesta Patrick, national of Trinidad and Tobago and since then seven other women, including three Guyanese, have received this prominent award for their dedication and determination in broadening the parameters of existence for women and improving their economic, social, political, cultural and legal status.
They are the late Dame Nita Barrow of Barbados in 1987; Dr Peggy Antrobus, national of Grenada and citizen of St Vincent and the Grenadines, 1990; Guyanese Magda Pollard, 1993; Jamaican Dr. Lucille Mair, 1996; Professor Joycelin Massiah, national of Guyana and citizen of Barbados, 1999; Professor Rhoda Reddock of Trinidad and Tobago, 2002 and Guyanese Justice Desiree Bernard in 2005.
The award to Professor Bailey was presented at the opening ceremony of the Twenty-Ninth Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community in Antigua and Barbuda on Tuesday.
