On this International Women’s Day, the Women’s Progressive Organisation joins women across Guyana and the world to celebrate women’s achievements, leadership and resilience. WPO recognises the legacy of the all women trailblazers in Guyana, especially its own founder Janet Jagan, who laid the foundation through activism for women’s education and political participation in society. The groundwork was laid for a more equitable society that challenged the social and political norms of society and paved the way for legislative and economic reforms that benefit women even today.
While women’s voices can be heard in every sphere of society and in governance, women must remain vigilant and work to overcome societal and cultural barriers that foster economic disparities.
The Women’s Progressive Organisation (WPO) celebrated International Women’s Day in Guyana for the first time in March of 1954. This was 43 years after March 8 was set aside in 1911 which is 72 years ago. The impact of the WPO in grassroot activism to national leadership is evident in all sphere of society and in the last 7 decades, women broke every barrier in education and politics.
In 1953, women who had no rights, owned no property, but were themselves considered the property of the dominant male in their lives. With universal adult suffrage in 1953, women voted without owning property and money and they elected 3 women and fifteen (15) men to the legislative council and Janet Jagan became the first female deputy speaker. This set the pace for more women to enter parliament, and the 2001 Constitution of Guyana mandates every political party contesting an election to have one third of its candidates as women. Today, women make up 38.4% of the national assembly, which is more than 8 times that of 1953. Today, women can be found at all levels of decision-making, and influence decisions that affect their lives and that of others.
The policies of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic government continue to create conditions that empower women socially, politically and economically. For example, Under the National Pathway Worker Programme, more than 75% women are employed and have become financially independent. Under the GOAL scholarship, 72% of the beneficiaries are women and girls. GWLI which was established in December 1997, as an outcome of the Beijing Platform for Action, have trained almost 12,000 women between 2020 – 2024. Of the 12,765 persons trained by the Board of Industrial Training, 60% were women. Society has evolved to allow women to become proud home owners. Of the 40,290 houselots and over 2,000 homes built, 46% of houselots were allocated to women.
Walking long distances to fetch water is a thing of the past. Almost 98% of Guyanese have access to potable water. This allows women to spend more time with families, to study under GOAL scholarship or to work and become financially independent.
