CIWiL – a Regional Organization to Advance Women’s Participation and Leadership

Valerie Woods

Valerie Woods says that CIWiL has been instrumental in advocacy and policy work across the region and so the plan is for the Belize Chapter to bring that same energy and commitment to champion women’s participation and advancement in Belize.  She tells us more about the N.G.O.

Valerie Woods, Chairperson, CIWiL Belize

“What it does is that it certainly encourages, empowers by way of networking, exchange of experiences, training and try to and trying to do its part in working with women to understand the barriers and working to address the barriers where it can. It’s really an advocacy body at best it does research and it also advocates training and a lot of exchanges for other women in and through-out the region so as to get other women to take that step.  This is a journey of many steps and incremental successes. They have also been able to establish what is referred to as a YIWiL – which is youth in women in leadership. And what is exciting for us is that the membership of that seventy-five that I mention to you already has such a robust group of young Belizean women and that their voices also need to be heard in the dialogue and the conversation. So, it was important that we learnt that the CIWil had such an outreach specific for that age group of women as well in the region. In addition to that, what CIWiL has done is that it has lent its voice in advocacy and in helping the women national chapters in advocating or lobbying for improved legislation, improved policy and being able to provide the necessary research or resources to help in that regard. So, it has been effective in getting that level of engagement going.”

If you are interested to learn more about the CIWiL Belize Chapter, you can visit the CIWIL.ORG website where you can download membership forms or you can email the chapter directly at ciwilbzenationalchapter@gmail.com