Remarks - International Women's Day 2019 - UNDP Resident Representative a.i.

March 11, 2019

REMARKS

Dr Elsie Laurence-Chounoune, UNDP Resident Representative

Breaking Through to Next Level Gender Equality in the Jamaican Workplace

An International Women’s Day event

 

(Gender Equality Seal Certification Programme

for Private Sector and Quasi public enterprises)

 

8 March 2019, 7:30 – 9:30 a.m., Courtleigh Hotel

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

  • Honourable Minister Olivia Grange, Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport
  • Mr. Denzil Thorpe, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport
  • Mr. Lloyd Distant, President, Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC)
  • Mrs. Brenda Cuthbert, CEO, Jamaica Employer’s Federation
  • Members of the Media
  • Distinguished ladies and gentlemen

 

Good Morning and Welcome.

International Women’s Day is our annual reminder that we need the productive capacities of both women and men maximised and engaged to secure the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

In the 2019 International Women’s Day message, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina J. Mohammed said, and I quote: “Women’s equal participation in the labour force would unlock trillions of dollars for global development. “Let us be clear”, she said, “we cannot build the future we want and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals without the full participation of women. “

Today, in collaboration with the Bureau of Gender Affairs and the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce, UNDP is pleased to spotlight the need for greater workplace equity. Today we will talk next level solutions in the journey to greater levels of gender equality in the Jamaican workplace, in celebration of the global theme for the IWD, “Think equal, build smart, innovate for change”.

We acknowledge that Jamaica has made important strides in this area. These include high proportion of women managers (at 59.3%); high levels of enrolment of women in tertiary education; and great progress in piloting a Sexual Harassment bill and a National Policy on Gender Equality. But when we talk Next Level, we talk about breaking through overlooked barriers, which can restrain the productive potential of the workplace. We believe that UNDP’s Gender Equality Seal Certification Programme for Private Sector and Quasi public enterprises provides such next level breakthrough opportunities.   

Why? Because the certification involves learning, sharing and building a culture of equity including through recruitment, hiring and selection of staff; organizational structure, functions and posts; wages, times and working hours and training opportunities; care of children, elders and people with disabilities; sexual harassment policies; and budgets allocated for gender activities.

UNDP is pleased that, by signing up for the first Gender Equality Seal Certification Programme in the English-speaking Caribbean, six local enterprises took a historic leap in this direction. These Organizations – RUBIS Energy Jamaica, Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica, Development Bank of Jamaica, Island Grill, Facey Commodity and the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce – became the first enterprises in the region to submit their internal operations for review, revision and strengthening, with the aim of becoming the first in the region to secure UNDP’s world-renowned Gender Equality Seal.

And now four of the six have reached a milestone in the internal review process. The companies recently completed the robust self-assessment and the staff opinion survey, which was a necessary step in the 10-step certification process. The findings are encouraging and we found that some processes are already equitable, but in a few cases, may need more work. I look forward to the presentation of select findings by two of these enterprises.

The next step in the process will be the development of a work plan by each company, which will be designed based on the findings of the assessment, and also on the global standards. UNDP will provide technical support to implement activities of this work plan.

At the end is the reward: The globally recognized Gender Equality Seal, which sets them apart in this competitive environment.  

Ladies and Gentlemen, participation in this programme is a sound investment decision as these companies will soon join the ranks of hundreds of companies, especially within Latin America, that have earned the Seal and have reported higher staff retention, increase in productivity, a reduction in absenteeism and greater return on investment, all important to a company’s bottom line.

I therefore congratulate the six enterprises for taking this bold step. I also wish to thank our public sector partner, the Bureau of Gender Affairs for their leadership and guidance in this process, and our private sector partner, Jamaica Chamber of Commerce for their commitment to the certification programme.

Fully persuaded by the track record of proven impacts on productivity, bottom line and work place wellbeing, I invite other private sector companies in Jamaica to sign on to the Gender Equality Seal certification programme. Other members of the UNDP and JCC teams and I stand ready to answer any of your questions about the programme.  Your company’s gender equitable footprint is likely to have a well needed positive ripple effect for gender equality throughout Jamaica, which is intrinsically linked to sustainable development and is vital to the realization of human rights for all.

UNDP remains committed to its partnership with government in promulgating gender equality values in fulfilment of Sustainable Development Goal number five which speaks to achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls.”