The Intersection of Gender, Culture and Education: Jamaica: The Next 50 Years!

“Science is not a boy’s game; it’s not a girl’s game. It’s everyone game.” –Nichelle Nichols April 26 is observed as the International Girls in ICT day. Regrettably, in many parts of the world, women and girls are disproportionately impacted by digital transformation which is yet another barrier to gender equality. Research from the UN Women states women are 14 per cent less likely than men to own a mobile phone and 25 per cent fewer women and girls are online when compared to men and boys.   According to a UN Women report, internet access and mobile connectivity, along with provision of digital literacy, can reduce social and gender inequalities.   Digital literacy is defined as the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills.   Historically, women have faced discrimination especially since in most societies women are the invincible creators of wealth and the adhesive fo

“To remain silent and indifferent is the greatest sin of all.”-Elie Wiesel We live in dangerous times. Evil is everywhere and what is considered a threat for one government is considered as a means of survival for another regime. In spite of legally binding international treaties and conventions the world has witnessed at least two instances of what experts estimate to be chemical warfare since the start of 2018. The first such case occurred in England and most recent one was in Syria. It can be debated that the attack in England was the first chemical warfare in post World War 2 Europe in which a former Russian spy and his daughter were poisoned in Britain’s southwestern city Salisbury England. The more recent nerve agent attack occurred in the Middle East, more specifically in Syria where the ongoing civil war has all but brought this country to her knees under the repressive regime of President Assad who is supported by both Russia and Iran. The unmistakably fact is the use of chem

“Leadership is based on inspiration, not domination; on cooperation not intimidation.”- William Arthur Wood Each year the society looks forward to the ranking of the nation’s schools. The rankings have become an annual feature of the educational landscape and provide much food for thought for analysts, not only in support for the various talk show programmes but also as a way to drive policies in making our education system more inclusive. The annual rankings of schools is based on the performance of students in the grade eleven cohort who obtain five or more subjects, including Mathematics and English Language in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations. The top ten ranked schools over the years have remained relatively unchanged. Campion College and Immaculate Conception High School have swapped the number one ranking since the publication began. Interestingly, both schools are Roman Catholic run institutions and highly sought after institutions. In fact all