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

“We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.”- Toni Morrison Since 2000, the international community has been celebrating the International Mother Language Day on February 21.   The observation of the day was an initiative of Bangladesh and was facilitated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).   The significance of the day is rooted in the need to promote linguistic and cultural multiplicity. According to UNESCO, linguistic diversity is increasingly being threatened as more and more languages disappear. Disturbingly, 40 per cent of global population does not have access to an education in a language they speak or understand.   Interestingly, the theme for this year’s International Mother Language Day is “Indigenous language as a factor of development, peace and reconciliation.” This year’s theme coincidences with the fact the United Nations have designated ...

“I hadn’t been aware that there were doors closed to me until I started knocking on them.”- Gertrude Elion The lack of female representation in Science is problematic.   On February 11 the United Nations along with the international community commemorates the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.   Despite the fact that women represent half of the world’s population a United Nations survey concluded that the probability of female students graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in science is 18 per cent, compared to 37 per cent for males. The theme this year is “Investment in Women and Girls in Science for Inclusive Green Growth.” As a society we absolutely rejoice that more girls are attending school than at any other time in our history, yet we must be concerned that girls continue to be under-represented in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).   According to the United Nations less than thirty per cent of researchers globally a...

“We need women at all levels, including the top, to change the dynamic, reshape the conversation, to make sure women’s voices are heard and heeded, not overlooked and ignored.”- Sheryl Sandberg For centuries the policing of women’s bodies have been facilitated through various cultural practices, as well as through numerous institutions such as the medical and legal professions. Women continue to face discrimination from being denied access to an education, to being subjected to forced sterilization and other human rights abuses made possible through the system of patriarchy. Historically, medicine has always been male dominated. Healthcare gender bias has had a very long history from Aristotle’s distinction between the superior male “form” and the inferior female “matter” to the medieval notion that women were unbalanced due to their wombs.   Despite the fact that more women have broken through the proverbial class ceiling and have entered the medical profession women’s health sti...