Consultants appointed in Women?s study

Over the next six months representatives from the Department of Women’s Affairs, The National Women’s Commission and other groups from throughout the country will embark on a study which will assess the opportunities for women’s political leadership in Belize. According to Women’s Commission President Kathy Esquivel, when you look at just how under represented women are in leadership roles, especially in the political field, there is a need to identify the barriers and come up with solutions. We caught up with the project’s newly appointed Consultants, Dr. Michael Rosberg and Adele Catzim, who told us how they plan to carry out their nationwide research and some of the factors they believe are preventing women from assuming leadership roles.

Adele Catzim, National Consultant

“I think that there are several reasons. You can’t pinpoint one thing, I think some things are cultural, somethings are economic, some maybe behavioral, but I think the point of this study is not to make assumptions or to make the assumptions that we know why women are not participating at the level that we want them to. We go into the study trying to be as objective as possible and then in the process of studying this issue, find out why, so then I think that question could be better answered in the process of the studying and at the end of the research project.”

Dr. Michael Rosberg, National Consultant

“We plan to work very carefully with members of the community throughout the country and also with organizations throughout the country as well as religious groups as well, women organizations, we plan to speak to men throughout the country, so it will be done in a participatory fashion.”

The Research will cost one hundred and twelve thousand Belize dollars and is being funded by the Inter-American Development Bank.