Historically, women in the CARICOM countries have been actively involved in politics and have made important contributions to the legislative agendas in their respective countries. Nevertheless, the presence of women parliamentarians in the region lags significantly behind that of the neighbouring countries in Latin America: 14.3% compared with 25.2%, respectively.

To answer these questions, UNDP produced the report “Where are the Women? A Study of Women, Politics, Parliaments and Equality in the CARICOM Countries”.

The research had three main objectives:

To obtain a more detailed picture of the situation regarding women’s political participation in the CARICOM countries;

To identify contextual factors and analyse how they affect the presence of Caribbean women in politics;
and to provide a list of necessary measures to increase women’s political participation and presence in decision-making positions.

In light of these findings, this regional analysis is an important resource for political parties, civil society, women’s organizations and governments to help identify the steps necessary to increase the presence and representation of women in politics. Moreover, it is hoped it will serve as a catalyst for strategic alliances amongst these diverse actors, prompt further research in this area and inspire policy reform that accelerates equal political participation of women and men in decision making structures.