Women are being repeatedly marginalised
Stabroek News
January 7, 2004
Dear Editor,
The lack of female representation on the Public Service Commission is a national disgrace and a national insult to Guyanese women. Could it be that in the public service where honest and hard working women make up over 60% of the workforce or outside the public service there were no women competent to serve on the commission? Surely that is an insane proposition.
It is in times like these that I recall former Chancellor Mr Cecil Kennard's extraordinary comment about women's inability to make good criminal lawyers.
I also recall the male dominated Constitution Reform Commission insanely recommending a Women and Chil-dren's Commission. Thank-fully, sanity prevailed, after hearing presentations by Ms. Vanda Radzik and Ms. Magda Pollard the Commission re-committed the recommendation and appropriately recommended two separate commissions.
I also recall the all male Parliamentary Oversight Committee on Constitutional Reform's insane attempt to whittle down a progressive re-commendation by the Consti-tution Reform Commission allowing more representation of women in Parliament. Thankfully sanity prevailed and after presentations by Ms. Hazel Halley-Burnet, Ms. Debra Backer, Ms. Rosemarie Benjamin-Noble and myself, the Oversight Committee decided to incorporate the recommendation as the CRC had intended.
I sincerely hope sanity will prevail very soon with respect to the composition of the Public Service Commission.
Yours faithfully,
Cavelle Andrea Lynch
LLB (UWI) LLM
(Warwick)
Attorney at Law