Attaining parity for women also involves men

- roundtable hears

During a roundtable held by the Women and Gender Equality Commission on Tuesday in the lead-up to International Women’s Day, attendees were reminded that the fight for gender parity is not one for women only, but for men as well, and that education of both genders is the key to eliminating the gap.

For International Women’s Day this year, held under the theme ‘Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030,’ women are being charged to ‘Be Bold for Change.’ According to the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Report, which quantifies and analyses gaps between men and women in the areas of health, education, economy and politics and tracks its changes over time, the gender gap will not likely close until 2186.

However, Guyana, along with the rest of the world, is pushing the agenda to close the gender gap by 2030, in an attempt to realize the fifth Sustainable Development Goal which aims to “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.”

Those who attended the roundtable (Ministry of the Presidency photo)

First Lady Sandra Granger, who was in attendance at the Carifesta Sports Complex event, spoke to the work that needs to be done locally in order for gender parity to be achieved. Listed were: education of the population so the long term implications of eliminating the gender gap is known to them; developing and implementing country-wide campaigns so women, men, boys and girls are socialized against behaviours that are damaging to themselves as well as to those around them both socially and economically; saying no to violence of all forms and demanding justice for trafficking victims;  and finally, ensuring that women and girls have equal access to education and healthcare from the time of birth.

She reminded that Guyana has one of the highest rates of teenaged pregnancy in the Carib-bean, noting that this usually affects the educational attainments of teenaged mothers. She stated that data available suggests that in Guyana within the 15-19 cohort there is a pregnancy rate of 21-22%, whilst in the under 15 cohort the rate is below 1%.

In this regard, she lauded the Ministries of Educa-tion and Public Health, the former for allowing teenage mothers to return to school and the latter for developing teenage support programmes at health centres across the country.

The First Lady further stated that according to data from the Guyana Situational Analysis of Women and Children 2016, childhood mortality is three times higher among children whose mothers only received primary education as compared to those who completed higher educational levels.

In some instances, the fight for equality for women, rather than placing women on equal footing with men, has only succeeded in creating an imbalance where men and boys are disadvantaged. Such a case was highlighted by Dr Barbara Reynolds, who noted that women are now attending school at higher rates than men. Reynolds, Deputy Vice Chancellor of Planning and International Engagement at the University of Guyana, proceeded to discuss the negative impacts this has and can potentially have on women and girls, who may very well remain disadvantaged in such a scenario.

“I want to just put in a plug here to the fact that around the world women are going to school—tertiary education—at higher numbers than men. We do not want that. The worst thing we want is 50% of our population with their muscle, their testosterone, their aggression, their frustrations, uneducated. If we think we have a problem when women were not going to school and men were going to school, we have not plumbed the depths of what could happen when men aren’t going to school and we still have to deal with them in the home, at work, at school, at worship and in the public square,” Reynolds said.

“…take a trip just outside Stabroek market any day between 10 and 4 and try to understand the sociology and the psychology and the economics and the politics of what is happening there. We need to get our men and boys into school, they need to be educated. Education is humanising. It is the best socializing factor we have,” she continued, adding that education does not necessarily translate to ‘schooling’.

Lawrence Lachmansingh, Chair of the Justice and Peace Com-mission Roman Catholic Church in Guyana, spoke of gender inequality from the male perspective, stating that men, too, need to become champions and advocates for women. Lachmansingh touched on the harsh realities women sometimes face as a result of the actions of their male counterparts, including being the subjects of objectification and power play.

“Is gender parity possible by 2030? I don’t know, but I believe that with behavioural change, determination and serious concerted action, we can become a healthier more educated, more confident and productive society. We can then achieve gender parity in the not too distant future,” the First Lady stated.