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Caribbean | Cuba | Arts

Meet Cuba’s All-Female Orchestra

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Cuba is famous for its music. A lot of people have heard of artists like the Buena Vista Social Club and Celia Cruz. But the country also has a long history of cultivating classical composers and performers. On a recent trip to Cuba, I met one group that stands out. In a country as stereotyped for its machismo as it is for its mambos, you might think an all-female classical ensemble would face an uphill struggle. But Cuban conductor Zenaida Romeu says that's not so. Romeu founded her group, Camerata Romeu, 23 years ago. She wanted to show off the parity between men and women she saw in h
Caribbean | Haiti | Politics

No women in new Haitian parliament

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As the Haitian Senate prepared to induct its newest lawmakers last week, outgoing Senate President Andris Riché couldn’t help but notice a disturbing trend inside the chamber’s wooden walls. Not one female sat among the 14 newly elected black-suited senators or among the 10 existing ones. “Despite all of the years of existence of our nation,” Riché said, “we are incapable of electing women in the Senate. We will be 30 guys deciding on the future of this country, while 53 percent of the population are women and they assume all of the economic responsibilities.” Next door
Caribbean | Jamaica | Politics

‘Women make good managers’ – Edwards wants more female ministers in next PNP government

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Jennifer Edwards, the president of the People's National Party Women's Movement, has declared that, in addition to having a female prime minister, she is hoping that women will take over critical ministerial portfolios such as national security and finance after the next general election. "The Women's Movement looks forward to seeing the first female minister of finance of this country. After the next election, we look forward to seeing the next minister of national security being a female. We look forward to seeing the minister of transport and works being a female because, Comrades, we ar
Caribbean | Entrepreneurship

New peer mentoring programme to fast-track women entrepreneurs in the C’bean

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HIGH-potential women entrepreneurs in the Caribbean are being invited to submit their applications to be part of and get support from a new peer mentorship programme. The initiative, which is part of the Entrepreneurship Programme for Innovation in the Caribbean (EPIC), funded by the government of Canada and implemented by the World Bank Group and its infoDev programme for entrepreneurship, will run as an eight-month intensive acceleration programme to provide participants with a wide range of support services to innovate their businesses, improve competitiveness and boost their growth.
Caribbean | Trinidad & Tobago | Leadership

The 10 most powerful women in Trinidad and Tobago

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Everyone knows the saying ‘behind every great man is a great woman’, but these women stand behind no one. Here’s a list of the women who ‘run things’, and have made indelible contributions to the history and future of Trinidad and Tobago. Catherine Kumar - CEO of the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry Kamla Persad-Bisessar - The first female Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Jearlean John - Housing Development Company’s CEO Diana Mahabir-Wyatt - former Senator Mahabir-Wyatt Dolly Nicholas - The first and only woman to receive a
Caribbean | Jamaica | Agriculture

Deck stacked against rural women

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The Jamaican Network of Rural Women Producers is moving to promote meaningful dialogue it hopes will go a far way in dismantling long-standing institutionalised biases which have been instrumental in keeping women, especially in rural Jamaica, firmly rooted at the foot of the economic ladder. President Mildred Crawford told The Gleaner that in observance of International Day of Rural Women tomorrow, the local body has organised four events from October 20-28, to raise public awareness about how the deck is stacked against women in Jamaica. In citing statistics to support this claim, Craw
Caribbean | Haiti | Security

Meet One Of The World’s Only All-Women Peacekeeping Units

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In 2010, a devastating earthquake hit Haiti. Death toll estimates vary widely but at least 100,000 people lost their lives, much of the infrastructure in the capital of Port-au-Prince was leveled. This ultimately left the government and economy of the region's poorest country severely incapacitated. Among the thousands who flew to the island to provide assistance was a rare but inspiring group: a unit of United Nations Peacekeepers comprised entirely of Muslim women from Bangladesh — one of just three all-female crews in the UN's more than 100,000-person peacekeeping force. Peacekeeper
Caribbean | Leadership

UWI Mona students selected for global youth leadership programme

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University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona campus, students Kizanne James and Necesia McNab have made the final list of 200 young leaders from 94 countries to be a part of a three-year global advocacy fellowship led by Women Deliver. Women Deliver is an international advocacy organisation that works towards the health, rights and well-being of women and girls globally. The group also brings together diverse voices and interests to drive progress in maternal, sexual, and reproductive health and rights. James and McNab have been integral in promoting the welfare of women and girls in their
Caribbean | Trinidad & Tobago | Economy

NGOs seek more women candidates in elections

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There is a need to increase the number of women chosen to run in this year’s elections according to Hazel Brown, coordinator of the Network of NGOs. “We are asking the political parties to at least put up 30 percent of women to be candidates to help increase women in the business world,” she said. Brown was speaking yesterday at the Network of NGOs Presentation of women candidates running for the 2015 election at Hyatt Regency, Dock Road, Port-of-Spain.
| Cuba | Culture

Health expert praises Cuban care of pregnant women

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Dr. José Luis Di Fabio, representative in Cuba of the Pan American and World Health organizations (PAHO / WHO) praised today in this city the country's progress in the care of pregnant women. Exclusively to ACN, Di Fabio highlighted the quality of primary services the state provides to pregnant women, as well as after their giving birth, in which stands out maternity leave, period needed to create the link with the newborn.
Caribbean | Trinidad & Tobago | Business

Supporting Female Caribbean Entrepreneurs

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You really don’t know what to expect when you put a dozen-plus Caribbean entrepreneurs in one room for a week. But one thing was clear when 15 entrepreneurs—all women—came together in Port of Spain in April. It was the start of something good. The ladies gathered to share experiences and build strategies for future collaboration. Besides their Caribbean heritage and passion for productivity, these go-getters had something else in common. Each had been competitively selected to take part in the first-ever facilitators training for the Women’s Innovation Network of the Caribbean (W
Caribbean | Trinidad & Tobago | Politics

Kamla: Women endure more blows

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There are double standards when it comes to women politicians who endure “blows” from some who are obsessed with belittling them, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has said. She was speaking at a conference to commemorate the work of Hazel Brown, at the Hyatt Regency (Tri­nidad) hotel, Port of Spain, on Friday. “As women, you really take a more severe battering in the politics. In some cases, there is a double standard in the way women in the political arena are viewed and the way that people approach them and the way people speak about us, and that is perhaps why we see le
Caribbean | Trinidad & Tobago | Politics

‘She has disgraced Tobago’ – Trinidad & Tobago’s Politics Hits New Low

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No-one quite expected the new low to which politics — not to mention logic and common decency — have sunk. Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Chief Secretary Orville London has labelled the statements made in Parliament by Tobago East MP Vernella Alleyne-Toppin as disgusting and disrespectful to Tobago women. London said the behaviour of Alleyne-Toppin, who is also Tobagonian, is not one of true representation to the people of Tobago and Tobago women. During a contentious debate in parliament, Vernella Alleyne-Toppin, a female parliamentarian from Tobago, made the distasteful accusati
Caribbean | Jamaica | Economy

Jamaica in First ‘Women in Maritime’ Move

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Jamaica is to host the Caribbean’s first ever Women in Maritime Association Conference as a first step towards establishing an International Maritime Organization (IMO) Women in Maritime Association (WiMA) for the region. The conference aims to support regional efforts to deepen the integration of women in the maritime sector through the establishment of a WiMA for the Caribbean. WiMA is the IMO’s gender programme which now marks its 27th year. One of the drivers of the programme has been the establishment of formal regional linkages between women managers in the maritime and port sect

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