On 25-27 April, PGA participated in the Workshop on Leadership for Good Governance and Social Transformation in the Caribbean hosted by the Commonwealth Secretariat, UN Women, and Caribbean Women in Leadership (CiWIL), focused on empowering women in politics by addressing issues of gender equality and good governance across the Caribbean.
The Workshop brought together parliamentarians, high-level representatives, human rights and gender experts, and civil society representatives to discuss key issues around gender equality and women's rights in the region, and to exchange best-practices on gender-responsive legislation, policies, governance and development processes.
Hon. Valerie Woods, Speaker of the House of Representatives (Belize) and PGA Executive Committee Member, chaired both the Opening Session on Women in Political Leadership and the session on Good Governance and Transformational Leadership.
During the session on Multi-Stakeholder Engagement with Women Political Leaders: Better Practices and Lessons Learned, Ms. Saarah Monawvil, Program Officer for PGA’s Climate Action Campaign, shared lessons learnt from PGA’s rich history of strengthening parliamentarians’ capacity through skills development, knowledge transfer and networking. Emphasizing the need for gender-responsive policies within climate action, she underscored the disproportionate impact of the climate crisis on women, who are often also on the frontline as environmental defenders.