Moving from Formal to Substantive Equality
Furthermore, sexually active teenagers do not have access to condoms at school and they cannot access sexual health services until they reach 16 years. This may lead to unwanted pregnancies and complications from illegal abortions. It also provides a dilemma for health professions who may wish to provide contraceptive services but are worried about being challenged by parents or the law.
She elaborated on another source of the problem: girls’ empowerment is not consistently promoted within the education system. In fact, national curricula continue to reflect gender biases. These ingrained ideas limit future educational pursuits and can result in the gendered division of the labour force. Many of the more lucrative professions, such as engineering, are dominated by men. In Saint Lucia, out of the 58 registered engineers, only two are women. Meanwhile jobs traditionally held by women, such as teachers from the preschool to secondary levels, are the lowest paid in the public sector.
Minister Reynolds stressed that men and women need to work together to promote women’s leadership and transform the countries of the Americas. She noted that because traditional norms, values, and their resulting behaviours are transient, it is possible to alter these inequities to improve women’s situation.