More than 30 women interested in politics and leadership benefited from a training workshop hosted by NGO CIWiL Antigua and Barbuda National Chapter.
CIWiL is a non-partisan and independent networking organisation committed to increasing the numbers of women in leadership in the region.
The one-day, in-person workshop took place at the Department of the Environment on Saturday.
The training workshop was aimed at preparing candidates and providing women leaders with the skills and knowledge to strengthen their capacity as social change agents.
Topics included women’s transformational leadership, strategies for running a successful campaign, as well as communication and media skills for leadership and campaigning.
CIWiL Antigua and Barbuda Chapter PRO Chaneil Imhoff highlighted the importance of the event as Antigua and Barbuda ranks very low in gender parity in elected politics having only two of 17 seats occupied by women.
“Organizations such as CIWiL Antigua and Barbuda National Chapter are committed to ensuring that there are more women involved in politics and decision-making by providing the tools necessary to advance their causes and run good campaigns,” she said following the training.
Una May Gordon, a CIWiL facilitator from Jamaica, told Observer she was pleased at the interest in what CIWiL is doing, and that participants remained engaged throughout the workshop.
“There was good, honest participation in the sessions, and people shared openly without reservations. Because there are such diverse backgrounds there was this honesty and that as very good for me,” Gordon added.
In a press statement, the organisation said it is optimistic that this training will support more women as they pursue leadership opportunities within the political landscape, and that there will be an increase in the percentage of women represented in Parliament from 11.1% following the next general election as the nation takes a proactive approach to advance women’s rights and representation.