Renewed action needed in fight for gender equality- Minister Lawrence

The call for renewed action in the fight for gender equality implies that efforts must be multiplied to achieve this objective.

This is according to Social Protection Minister, Volda Lawrence as she addressed a large gathering at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre this morning, as 50 outstanding women were honored in observance of International Women’s Day 2016.

While noting that significant inroads have been made as it relates to closing the gender inequality gap, Minister Lawrence highlighted several challenges that are still to be overcome, including but not limited to, male chauvinism, denial of opportunities and non-recognition of women’s work in the home.

Meantime, delivering the feature address, President David Granger posited that gender equality must be continuously addressed.

The Guyanese Leader also announced that he will be pardoning more women, convicted of minor offences, come this December.

He reminded that Guyana has pledged to work assiduously to attain the 17 Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs) specifically goal 5 which speaks to gender equality and women empowerment.

The Head-of-State said steps will be taken to remove structural impediments, which he noted starts with attitudinal and behavioral changes, “move into the realm performance…address structural causes of gender equality.” He believes that this can be achieved in this period especially through education, which can lend to enhancing the status of women in society.

International Women’s Day 2016, is being held under the theme:“Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality.”