Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

The rise of Caribbean women in politics

Thomas C. Famous

"I'll rise like the day"

"I'll rise up"

"I'll rise unafraid."

"I'll rise up."

"And I'll do it a thousand times again."

Andra Day

Over the last 100 years, women worldwide have rejected the male-imposed shackles dictating what they can or cannot be.

Those who wished to become doctors, lawyers, teachers, pilots, engineers or any other profession have done so.

Those that wished to become preachers, undertakers, business owners, or media moguls, have done so.

In the political arena, those that have wished to become Senators, Congresswomen, Members of Parliament, Presidents of the Senates, Speakers of the House of Assembly, Premiers, or Prime Ministers have done so.

They have done so, not just with their own willpower and determination, but with the aid, assistance, and mobilisation of a network of other women, who are able and willing to work in every capacity to ensure success.

Networks of women


Whether it be; the Aunt doing bake sales to raise money to send her Niece to university or the Mother painstakingly guiding her Daughter through the stages of adulthood.

Yes, the ever-present network of sisters, cousins, and friends, or any combination thereof, that go out to hand out flyers, set up meetings, and yes, protest when needed.

In the year 2021, the message is clear, Caribbean women are taking their rightful place in local and regional politics.

Look at Hon. Prime Minister Mia A. Mottley of Barbados as a prime example of a regional powerhouse.

Any political strategist will know this to be accurate; women make up 52 percent of the population and at least 60 percent of those who consistently vote. Therefore, it is virtually impossible to win any election unless most women of that country support a given candidate or party.

Look at what happened in Georgia and, by extension, in America, during the 2020 elections, with the massively successful voter mobilization, led by Stacy Y. Abrams.

Equally valid, is if a candidate or party falls out of favour with most women, their political future is over.

Regional overview


In the Turks and Caicos Islands, half of the Cabinet are women.

There are currently four women who sit in the House of Assembly in the Virgin Islands, three as elected members and one as Attorney General.

The [British] Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Jamaica, Monserrat, and Trinidad have had women as Speakers of the House.

In the Cayman Islands, 5 of the 19 MPs are women, one being Deputy Speaker and 2 being Cabinet Ministers.

Bermuda and Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Cayman Islands have seen multiple women rise to the highest political office of Premier.

In St Maarten, there have been two women Prime Ministers.

In Jamaica, St Vincent, and Trinidad, women occupy the positions of Speaker of the House. In Antigua, St Lucia, and Bermuda, the Presidents of their respective Senates are women.

These are well-known points of local, regional, and global leadership:

*  Women legislators exercise better organisational skills.

*  Women legislators seek resolution versus confrontation

*  Women legislators bring more reform and revise discriminatory laws against women, children, and vulnerable populations

Rise up


On a personal note, I owe much to the women in my family and community, who have been both the catalyst and backbone of my political career over the last ten years.

On an executive level, our party is essentially run by women. Both the Chair and the Deputy Chair positions are filled by two women who have dedicated most of their lives to gender equality and the social upliftment of all.

In closing, it will do well for all regional political entities to understand that Caribbean women are on the rise in every sphere of society. They are organised and can mobilise movements at a moment's notice when needed.

And like the song, they will do it a thousand times again.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×