The second phase of training under the project “Mainstreaming Gender Equality in Saint Lucia’s National Sustainable Development Plan” recently concluded at the National Skills Development Centre. The project was launched earlier this year, with the inception mission by consultants from Niagara College, Canada.

The Gender Mainstreaming project seeks to ensure that gender is mainstreamed throughout the public service. Since May of 2019, public servants have been introduced to gender concepts and gender analysis with the aim of ensuring that during planning and budgeting in the public service, issues relating to men and women are dealt with equally.

Dr. Claudia Louis, Project Coordinator, said the project ensures that issues related to men and women are dealt with equally.

“Gender mainstreaming relates to having gender in the forefront of planning throughout the government service. In many cases, gender was always an afterthought when programs were being developed. The Gender Mainstreaming Project seeks to ensure that in planning and budgeting, issues related to men and women are dealt with equally, so that whomever is benefitting from any project or program implemented by any agency would benefit men and women equally.”

The latest training exercise served as both a train-the-trainer exercise. as well as a pilot project.

“We are currently training individuals within 20 government departments and we are introducing gender concepts and issues related to gender analysis,” Dr. Claudia Louis said. “They are representatives of their various ministries and departments and they are expected to go back to their departments and multiply the training within the department. As part of the project, we will keep a network of the various participants to ensure that they get the support to present the concepts to their various ministries.”

The project is being implemented by the Government of Saint Lucia through a grant from the Caribbean Development Bank.