Saint Lucia: Minister Jeremiah Norbert expressed his views and the plans of the government in the field of gender equality and progress in economic and social sectors under the 2030 sustainable development in Saint Lucia on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

Jeremiah Norbert recently selected a new member of the PM cabinet of ministers to look over the responsibilities of the Crime Prevention Ministry and the new Ministry for People with Disabilities. He is currently holding the temporary position of Minister for Public Service, Labour and Gender Affairs.

The responsibility is given to Norbert in the absence of Virginia Albert Poyotte, the designated Minister for Public Service, Labour, and Gender Affairs of Saint Lucia, while he is on medical leave.

In his statement, Jeremiah Norbert said, “International Women’s Day is indeed a day of celebration for all. Primarily for women, but for all people as well because a woman never stands alone. She represents a family, a community, and a nation.”

He mentioned in his speech that as the nation celebrated the day with them of ‘Invest in Women, Accelerate Progress’, the approach of the government towards gender equality and goals of women empowerment is one of the crucial steps toward their ‘people first’ vision.

While mentioning the focus of the government for the future, Jeremiah Norbert said, “We have stressed that our great asset is our people, all the people including men, women, boys and girls. No group must be left behind in our pursuit of national development. We must all progress together if we will progress at all.”

Norbert highlighted that the progress of any nation depends on the equal distribution of opportunities and responsibilities among all groups. For this, it is necessary to build a system that could help to achieve gender equality which will lead to the true development of the nation.

He said, “The rate of poverty of women of the working age continues to be far too high in Saint Lucia. These rates will drop only if we tackle head-on structural factors such as underemployment and unemployment due to the overburdened or unpaid care of children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities on working-age women.”

Minister Jeremiah Norbert also mentioned in his speech, “The Government of Saint Lucia has set the example in the past two and a half years by putting our money where our mouth is through various examples of innovative financing.”

He added, “The MSME loan grants and the youth economy both launched last year respond to the reality of young, micro, and small business owners and persons interested in entrepreneurship for easier access to capacity for access to finance.”

In his statement, Jeremiah Norbert also expressed his gratitude towards the people involved private sector and the civil society organisations for their crucial role in the betterment of women and initiatives for gender equality.