Yuille-Williams: More investment needed to educate and train women

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Minister Joan Yuille-Williams says an investment in the nation’s women will lead to a brighter future for all the people of Trinidad and Tobago. Addressing the launch of the second cycle of the Women in Harmony Project at Crowne Plaza yesterday, the Minister observed that World Bank reports of the 1980s have called upon governments worldwide “to invest in the education and training of women and girls.”

“The rationale then was that this would improve the health of families, lead to individual empowerment and ultimately to collective economic growth for the country. This remains a valid strategy for our society, for while broad human development indicators may depict a rather advanced situation, we are very much aware of the pokcets of our population that can easily be left behind. We are paying attention to this. No woman, no man, no child must be left behind,” she declared.

Yuille-Williams explained that two trends in the country’s vital and labour statistics have influenced the need and design of the project. These include life expectancy rates over age 65 with identifiable support needs which offer “enormous opportunity for the expansion of our social service response, particularly for home health care” and increasing numbers of female heads of households which provides an opportunity to help these women “build their economic capacity and their capacity to earn a sustainable livelihood.”

The Minister stressed that the elimination of gender bias as a “development bottleneck” must be a central objective of policy if the gains to be achieved in the path to developed country status are to be maximised. Junior Community Development Minister Eulalie James shared her sentiments and gave the assurance that men had nothing to fear as the project sought to promote equity in employment in Trinidad and Tobago. The project will involve the training of 550 persons in elderly care and agriculture over a six-month period.