NASSAU, Bahamas, November 15, 2021 (BIS) — Newly elected officers and members of the Bahamas Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Women’s Association (CPWA) are pictured, seated from left: the Association’s Deputy Chair, House Speaker Patricia Deveaux MP; Chair, HE Leslia Miller-Brice, MP, High Commissioner to CARICOM; and Senator Vianna Gardiner, Secretary.
Standing from left are Senate President, Lashell Adderley; Lisa Rahming MP, State Minister in the Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development; Jobeth Coleby-Davis MP, Minister of Transport and Housing; Glenys Hanna-Martin, Minister of Education, Technical and Vocational Training; Ginger Moxey, Minister for Grand Bahama; Senator Dr. Erecia Hepburn; and Pia Glover-Rolle, State Minister in the Ministry of the Public Service. Not pictured is Senator Maxine Seymour.
According to the website of CWP: “The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) is the network of women Members of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s Parliaments and Legislatures. The CWP network provides a means of building the capacity of women elected to Parliament to be more effective in their roles, improving the awareness and ability of all Parliamentarians, male and female, and encouraging them to include a gender perspective in all aspects of their role – legislation, oversight and representation and helping Parliaments to become gender-sensitive institutions.”
The website also notes: “The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) network has officially published the CWP Strategic Plan 2020-2022 which sets out its core priority to encourage women Parliamentarians and Commonwealth Parliaments to advance issues around gender equality and to advocate for greater representation of women in Parliaments across the Commonwealth.
“With over 3,000 women Parliamentarians represented in 180 national, sub-national, provincial and territorial Parliaments of the Commonwealth across the nine Regions of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), the CWP provides a means of building the capacity of women elected to Parliament to be more effective in their roles, improving the awareness and ability of all Parliamentarians, male and female, and encouraging them to include a gender perspective in all aspects of their role – legislation, oversight and representation and helping Parliaments to become gender-sensitive institutions.”
