Crack the “Glass Ceiling” Inequality and Guyanese Women: Written Expressions by Daniela Araujo
… the world in which we live is characterized by deeply unequal sharing of the burden of adversities between men and women.
Gender equality is a human right, but our world faces a persistent gap in access to opportunities and decision-making power for both genders.
The search for equality between men and women is fuelling a never-ending war. However, inequality can take many different forms, it manifests itself in the unequal representation of both genders in various walks of life.
For thousands of years, women have been deprived of the ability to fully express their intellect. Initially, women were seen as housewives who were supposed to cook and clean; they were limited from many responsibilities and rights.
Nevertheless, soon enough with the beginning of industrialization and technological development, women started to participate in all life’s movements.
Women have fewer opportunities than men, less access to basic and higher education, greater health and safety risks, and less political representation.
Of all the challenges women are being faced with, underrepresentation in politics is major. As contrasted with time, women now have the right to vote and participate in their country’s political life.
Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, has been labelled the most powerful woman in the world year after year.
However, the problem is that women are poorly represented in most countries governments and legislative bodies.
Only 49 nations worldwide have had female leaders. The percentage of women’s participation in national parliaments is only 24.5 percent.
Women bring a different and critical perspective to politics. The meaningful inclusion of women is integral to vibrant democratic development.
Based on research it is stated that Guyanese women became involved in politics in the year 1964.
FORMER PRESIDENT JANET JAGAN
In 1964 the Women’s Political and Economic Organisation was jointly established by Janet Jagan and Winifred Gaskin.
Janet Jagan went on to be co-founder, with her husband Cheddi Jagan who was a part of a political party (People’s progressive party) that won elections for several years.
She was several times a parliamentarian, and a prime minister and she eventually elevated herself to the executive president.
Janet Jagan was the first elected female president in South America.
Janet Jagan succeeded as president and was awarded Guyana’s highest national award, the order of Excellence, and in 1993 the UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi gold medal for women’s rights.
She was also the longest member serving parliament. In-office, it was said that her presidency was defined by a sense of vision and wider purpose. While consolidating on the gains made by Dr. Jagan in the fields of health, education, housing, and the provision of potable water.
During her time in office, Jagan was an outspoken advocate for the full emancipation of women in Latin America, including equal education, equal housing opportunities, equal pay for equal work, and free maternity leave.
Truly it is a hero of freedom who can dedicate her life to building the political and economic independence of a nation.
We find in a society that men underestimate the power of women to be successful in the political field.
A writer by the name of Krishna Persaud once compared Janet Jagan to Nelson Mandela and he stated “With characteristic selflessness, Mrs. Janet Jagan has passed the torch.”
The diminished vigor she cited as the reason for her resignation has prompted few statesmen to relinquish power at the height of their popularity.
The only other notable example of this magnanimous gesture is of course Nelson Mandela, who like the Jagans, fought for decades to win democracy for his country…”Women like men are only different, not weaker.”
We have had several women involved in politics to date.
Ms. Agnes Dalrymple, former chief sea and river defence officer and head of the department at the ministry of public infrastructure expressed her views she said “when I left school back in the 1970’s my mom wanted me to teach. Instead, I did a diploma in architecture. By the time I retired, I was an engineer and head of the department at the ministry. There’s no reason to think you can’t do something because it’s a man’s job.”
On August 19th, 2018, Ms. Volda Lawrence and Ms. Annette Ferguson were elected to top positions of leadership in the People’s National Congress Reform, one of Guyana’s largest political parties.
The foregoing examples underscore how far we came as a society toward the goal of gender equality through women’s empowerment.
Aside from politics women struggle daily in other aspects of life including wage gap, reproductive health, ignorance, criticism for being demanding and the list goes on.
I recall a point in my life when I struggled to voice my own opinions, I was told that silence is golden.
After being involved in pageantry in the year 2017, I realised that silence breaks us apart as humans, words bring us together.
I started speaking on behalf of myself and others, I became a voice for the voiceless and an inspiration to many at age seventeen.
I learned that as women we were limited, but I choose to be limitless.
The ‘glass ceiling’ is a phrase women have been trying to break for decades.
To break that, I believe we all must stand together as one and empower our younger generation of women that they like men can achieve any and everything, in any given field.
The future of the girl child is at stake in a world of so many emerging cultures and preferences.
They must stand tall and firm in unity.
Like Janet Jagan, they must not miss opportunities to crack glass ceilings because they understand their worth and they believe that there is power in the voice of a woman.
This is no longer a man’s world.
If only females can be more involved in politics, our country and the world overall would benefit tremendously from the inaugural knowledge that women have to offer.
