Women play leading roles in many sectors in Guyana – Pres Ali

…says no other country in region can compare to Guyana’s advancement of women

Despite facing a host of barriers, women in Guyana are playing leading roles in many sectors and according to President Dr Irfaan Ali, this is demonstrative of greater inclusion of females in the country’s development – something which no other countries in the region cannot match up to.
The Head of State was at the time delivering remarks at an event held at State House on Wednesday even in celebration of International Women’s Day.
During his address, President Ali reflected on the successes of women in Guyana, which he described as “great, significant, important and transformative.” He told the gathering almost entirely females that they are just a small sample of the women in the country who are making significant contributions to the development of the nation.

“Tonight (Thursday), in this small sample of women across Guyana, we have women in the legal field, in aviation, in business, in culture, in arts, in politics, as home CEOs, in agriculture, manufacturing, industry, healthcare, education, law enforcement and of course, diplomacy and beauty… all of it in the capsule of intelligence,” he posited.
Scholarship and training
The Head of State went onto outline that under the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) Scholarship initiative, some 72.6 per cent of the students studying are women from every single region across the country. In fact, one of the presenters during the event was a young Amerindian woman, Elisa Bascom, who spoke of the opportunity she got to further her studies and is now a Management development Officer at the Amerindian Affairs Ministry.
According to President Ali, this is “…an example of the how important this programme is for girls and women across our country.”
In the public sector, he noted that 57 per cent of the total number of scholarships given by the Public Service Ministry went to women. Similarly, training within the public sector has seen women accounting for 69 per cent of those who have benefitted.
With regards to technical programs at the Ministry of Education, which includes technical, vocational, education and training (TVET), and Family and Life Education programmes, 80 per cent of the total intake are women.
“This is a tremendous accomplishment. These are stats that are overwhelming. These are your stats,” he declared.

Education
The President further informed the gathering that the University of Guyana also has a high percentage of female students, that is, 70 per cent of the total student population. But he pointed out that much more important is the fact that the withdrawal rate at the tertiary education institution among females is among the lowest in the Caribbean region at 0.4 per cent.
“What that tells you is that not only are women enrolled but women have the staying power, they have the fighting power, they have the sacrifice power and they have the ability to finish what they start. And this is something men must learn. This is something you have to teach men; you have to teach your brothers, your sons, your husband. You have to teach them how to finish what you start,” he stressed.
According to the Guyanese leader, similar statistics from UG shows that the withdrawal rate among male is significantly higher.

Healthcare
Turning his attention to the medical field, President Ali disclosed that some 60 per cent of the doctors in the local healthcare system are women and a staggering 98 per cent of all the nurses in the country are women.
Moreover, he noted that one of the latest programme his government has launched with a specific effort to have women engage and take the lead in for the first time, is the shade house hydroponic system. Already, 40 per cent of those who are participating in this initiative are women.
“These numbers you don’t see anywhere else in the region. So, we have much, much to celebrate today,” the Head of State declared.

Housing
He went onto talk about women’s involvement in the local housing programme, which has seen a 64 per cent participation by females. This includes 46 per cent of female only-led application and allocation as well as a 17 per cent of joint application by male and female.
In addition, another 65 per cent of the total core homes have been allocated to females, mostly single women. Added to this, a whopping 85 per cent of the persons who benefited from Home Improvement Subsidy are women. This initiative allows low-income families who are living in poor structures to benefit from $500,000 worth in building materials to carry out repairs or expansion to an existing property.
The President posited that these figures of women participating in the housing sector are not seen anywhere else. But in the same breath, he outlined that these achievements just do not fall into the hands of women.
“They work for it because when you look at the Housing Programme,79 per cent of all the consultation are attended by women… That means that women are participating in the process to change their lives and uplift their lives. Women are participating in the development process. Women are participating in the transformation process in our country…,” the Guyanese Leader stated.
Law enforcement
President Ali went onto point out that women constitute about 22 per cent of Guyana’s total law enforcement personnel, and out of that amount, some 26 per cent are senior officers within their respective law enforcement field.
According to the Head of State, these are women who are working hard to protect citizens day and night.
Then in the judiciary, he added that women account for another 60 per cent of those who administer justice in the country.
Business
In terms of business support, 60 per cent of all investment from the Tourism, Industry and Commerce Ministry in business support went to women. Additionally, 70 per cent of those training in Advanced Sales and Marketing Techniques are also women.
Out of all the businesses that are certified under the Standards Development Programme, some 45 per cent are businesses owned by women. Then in the Empowerment Grant, more than 55 per cent of the allocations went to women across all sectors.
“…I will say this without contradiction, the numbers I’m giving you tonight, no other country in this region can come close to these numbers we have here in Guyana and you – the women of Guyana – are the owners of these numbers and you should be very, very proud,” President Ali contended. (G8)