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Departments, Specialised Units and Centres Highlights

INSTITUTE FOR GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

The Institute for Gender and Development Studies (IGDS) had several achievements, faced challenges and created several opportunities during the 2021–2022 academic year (AY). Significant progress was made towards gender mainstreaming within The UWI, revision of The UWI Gender Policy, movement of The Policy through the Campus Boards, approval of the Terms of Reference for the Campus Gender Task Forces, called on Campus Principals for activation of the Campus Gender Task Forces, and work on the staff and student gender audits. The Institute’s staff worked towards fulfilment of the objectives of the University’s 2017–2022 Strategic Plan, crafting our own Strategic Plan under its central pillars of Access, Alignment, and Agility.

Access

The IGDS continued to create opportunities for accessibility and participation, and delivery of quality academic programmes, student development, and increased its research and publication outputs, and continued with collaborations and support of various stakeholders.

TEACHING AND LEARNING

During the AY, teaching was delivered at the undergraduate and graduate levels by all IGDS Units as follows:

Undergraduate

A total of 935 students were registered in 31 courses as follows:

  • Mona Unit (MU) – 490 in 16 courses with 35 Majors;
  • Nita Barrow Unit (NBU) – 153 in seven courses; and
  • St. Augustine Unit (SAU) – 292 in eight courses with 14 Minors.

Graduate

A total of 123 students were registered as follows: 55 at the NBU, 36 at the Regional Coordinating Office (RCO), and 32 at the SAU.

Non-UWI customers

The IGDS designed and delivered training under various projects with the development of requisite instructional and facilitation materials. The NBU delivered the Caribbean Institute for Gender and Development (CIGAD) session online, to 30 regional and international participants. Funding for the CIGAD Seed Grants programme was secured for the first time, allowing the NBU to provide technical assistance and resources to community-based projects led by CIGAD.The NBU also delivered the “Gender and Infrastructure Certificate on Water Sector Resilience Nexus for Sustainability in Barbados (WSRN-Barbados)", funded by the Green Climate Fund.

The SAU developed and rolled-out the migrant-centred toolkit and related electronic promotional material under the ‘IGDS/ Pan American Development Foundation’s (PADF) Break the Silence (BTS)’ Project, to guide training and capacity-building workshops for service providers of Spanish-speaking migrants in Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.

The RCO successfully completed the UNESCO Caribbean Sheroes Initiative Workshop on “Gender Equality, Development and Advocacy, Transforming MENtalities Edition” which was selected by UNESCO as representative of global best practice and has been replicated in other nations.

The RCO working with other Units advanced its development of an online 12-credit Graduate Certificate Programme, with the objective of launching it in Academic Year 2023–2024 and reaching a global audience. The initiative toward an online MSc is also underway.

Improving the quality of teaching, learning and student development

The Institute utilized various approaches to improve the quality of teaching and learning, and extended student support as follows:

  • The MU’s collaboration with The UWI Centre for Disability Studies to design a Minor in Disabilities Studies, and redesign of the Undergraduate Diploma in Gender and Development for online offering as part of a stacked approach for mature working students. Also, production of a Trainers-of-Trainers and Trainee Module on “Clinical Care after Sexual Assault”, for medical doctors and nurses in FMS curriculum.
  • The IGDS’s strides toward enhancement of regionality through:
    • Harmonisation of two graduate courses: Feminist Epistemology and Gender Research (GEND 6102) and Gender Analysis for Development Policy and Planning (GEND 6502);
    • Hosting of an inaugural IGDS Graduate Symposium with participation by eight graduate students from the NBU, SAU and RCO on three panels;
    • Weekly regional IGDS Workshop Series for Graduate Students, in areas such as Critical Reading and Writing, Preparation for Ethics Submission, and Data Collection, which were led by staff within the Units.
  • SAU’s creation of its first Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) titled: Transformative Feminist Leadership, in collaboration with FutureLearn;
  • The NBU offered scholarships, paid internships and other paid opportunities on its outreach projects to its graduate students as part of the commitment to professional development and service learning.
  • RCO’s hosting of two theses defences for PhD candidates, and three graduate seminars by the SAU.

Honours and Awards

The following were highlights:

  • RCO’s MSc students, Shenecia Brown became the fourth recipient of the Catherine James Scholarship, and Alia Wedderburn received the Mary Allison McLean Scholarship from the Bureau of Gender Affairs.
  • Ms. Alicia Haynes, NBU, was awarded the Ann Denis Scholarship for Feminist, from grant funds bequeathed by Professor Ann Denis.
  • The SAU honoured the eleven Minors in Gender and Development Studies (FSS), two Minors in Gender Studies (FHE) and recognized five of those students for their dedication and contribution to the IGDS Ignites.

IMPROVING THE QUALITY, QUANTITY AND IMPACT OF RESEARCH, INNOVATION AND PUBLICATION

During the AY, the staff continued to focus on research and publication and contributing to knowledge generation at both the individual and collective levels. Noted highlights included:

  • NBU’s staff authored the case study for Barbados, titled: “Barbados: Social Policies in times of COVID-19: Analysis of the Adopt Our Families” for “DAWN Pandemic Transformations Case Studies”.
  • The award of BBs$385, 397 research project "Sugar Made Us Free? Diabetes and the Afterlife of Slavery in Barbados: Art, Archive & the Gendered Dimensions of Risk” from the New Frontiers in Research Fund to faculty of the NBU and Dr. Nicole Charles of the University of Toronto.
  • The publication of the IGDS: NBU Working Paper Series through a partnership with the Caribbean Review of Gender Studies (CRGS).
  • Continued publication of the CRGS, an Open Access Online Journal by the SAU.
  • Publication of four books, a special issue journal, as well as book chapters and journal articles by the faculty across the Units.

ALIGNMENT

The Institute was involved in multiple research and outreach projects, activism and public advocacy building initiatives with local, regional and international partners.

Promote greater activism and public advocacy

The IGDS’ emphasis on activism and public advocacy was evident by the range of its programmes during the AY, and more specifically during internationally observed days, such as International Women’s Day (IWD), International Men’s Day (IMD), International Day for the Elimination of Violence Women (IDEVAW) and 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. Some of the highlights included:

  • The MU’s Period Poverty Reduction Initiative and workshop for student leaders titled: “Young Women in Political Life”, for IWD, and participation in the regional social media campaign on “Males Who Care & Males Who Create”, to promote positive conversations about masculinity for IMD 2021. Participants in the Rickshaw Project with Recycling Partners of Jamaica (RPJ) and Mona Social Services, collected approximately 3,686 lbs of plastic bottles and received JMD 76,226.48.
  • The NBU’s Professor Eudine Barriteau’s and Dr. Tonya Haynes’ historic roles as co-chairs of the first ever Gender and Development Forum (GDF) at the fifteenth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD XV) hosted in the Caribbean.
  • The RCO hosted two regional webinars, “COVID Impact 1 – Caribbean Households”, and “COVID Impact 2 – the Caribbean Youth experience: How COVID-19 changed my life”, a Brown Bag: “A Call to Action: Advocacy to Repeal those Laws/Policies that Condone and Facilitate GBV”, and a panel discussion titled “Where Have All the Women Gone? The Shift from Women to Gender in Feminist Discourse and Praxis”, as well as the annual Portia Simpson Miller Lecture.
  • SAU project – A Sexual Culture of Justice: Strengthening LGBTQI & GBV Partnerships, Capacity & Efficacy to Promote & Protect Rights in T&T.

Participant from August Town Community Rickshaw collaborative Project of IGDS, MU, Recycling Partners of Jamaica (RPJ) and Mona Social Services (MSS).

Increase and improve academic/industry research partnerships

The Units submitted several research grant proposals and worked assiduously on advancing and concluding existing funded projects while commencing new ones. The following are highlighted projects which were undertaken during the AY:

MU

  • CRECE: Connecting research efforts to promote collaboration and equity in science, technology and innovation frameworks in Latin America and the Caribbean.
  • Health Connect Jamaica (HCJ) USAID/HIV Project: to increase the capacity of HCJ network in gender perspectives and empowerment within healthcare delivery, and increase collaboration between HCJ and civil society to foster client referral and uptake of services.
  • Improving Household Nutrition Security and Public Health in CARICOM (Food and Nutrition) project, funded by International Development Research Centre (IDRC). Spotlight Initiative: Women’s Media Watch HFLE Curriculum Guide for the Prevention of GBV.
  • Essex Valley: Gender-Responsive Economic Inclusion of Vulnerable Groups in Agriculture and Organizational Strengthening project with the Mona School of Business Management (MSBM).

NBU

  • The BLOOM Project (Building climate-smart Livelihoods through Opportunity, Outreach and Membership) funded by the British High Commission.
  • The Digital Enquirer Toolkit project funded by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
  • EU’s Livity Project – is a seven-country four-year project designed to address marginalisation, discrimination and exclusion of persons in marginalized groups.

RCO

  • UNDP Spotlight Initiative Caribbean Regional Programme: Strengthening Regional Cooperation to Prevent and Respond to Family Violence in the Caribbean Project.
  • US Public Diplomacy Small Grants Project.
  • UNESCO Caribbean Sheroes Initiative (CSI) Phase 2 (Advocacy Training) Project.
  • USAID Positive Pathways Activity in Jamaica.
  • Child Art and Creative Writing Competition.

SAU

  • Data collection on women’s movement involvement in Child Marriage and Early Unions (CMEU), on life histories of women who were in CMEUs, on adolescent knowledge and attitudes, across six countries.
  • UNDP consultancy to Develop a Gender Mainstreaming Roadmap in the Commonwealth of Dominica.
  • Revised the Health and Family Life Education curriculum to include GBV.
  • Provided training in Sexual Harassment Policy Development with support for women, peace and security, for the T&T Defense Force’s National Action Plan Development.
  • Co-facilitated on the RCO-led project to develop a manual and relevant institutional strengthening training for Gender Affairs Division staff across five regional territories.
  • Partnered with Faculty of Food and Agriculture to co-lead the Social Impact and Gender Component – FISH4ACP Developing Sustainable Value Chains for Aquatic Products (Guyana).
  • Provided technical support to the Fondes Amandes Community Reforestation Programme (FARCP) Bush and Forest Fire Mitigation Initiative in T&T.

AGILITY

During the AY, the Institute continued to fundraise, mobilise resources and build partnerships at the local, national and international levels. Highlights included:

MU

  • Generated JM$2,157.088.51 from consultancy and Summer School fees.

    • NBU

    • GEND 6103 (Gender Analysis for Development Policy and Planning) course, for Practitioners in the field – BBs$20,349.98 in revenue.
    • 14th Caribbean Institute in Gender and Development, grant funding awarded – BBs$254,000.00.
  • Digital Enquirer Kit for Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH generated BBs$65,593.63.
  • Gender and Infrastructure Certificate, Water Sector Resilience Nexus for Sustainability in Barbados (WSRN S-Barbados) Consultancy, funded by Green Climate Fund and delivered on behalf of Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre – BBs$200,000.
  • The Path Project: Templeton World Charity Foundation – BB$466, 670.00

RCO

  • Tuition from the self- financed MSc Programme – JM$2,358,582.52.
  • UNDP Spotlight Initiative Caribbean Regional Programme: “Strengthening Regional Cooperation to Prevent and Respond to Family Violence in the Caribbean” – US$49,995.00.
  • US Public Diplomacy Small Grants Project – US$24,000;
  • UNESCO Caribbean Sheroes Initiative (CSI) Phase 2 (Advocacy Training) project – US$14,000;
  • USAID Positive Pathways Activity in Jamaica – JM$1,200,000;
  • Sponsorship of the Portia Simpson Miller Lecture – JM$225,000.

SAU

  • A Sexual Culture of Justice: Strengthening LGBTQI & GBV Partnerships, Capacity & Efficacy to Promote & Protect Rights in T&T– €187,974.
  • MOU with the Bankers Association of Trinidad and Tobago for sponsorship of just under TT$500,000.00 to enhance evidence-based advocacy and build the responsiveness of IGDS Outreach through the BTS Campaign and Associated Projects to end GBV.
  • Spotlight Initiative Programme to End Violence Against Women and Girls – three projects:
    • Assessment and Alignment of the Health and Family Life Education (HFLE) Curricula and Teacher Training – US$94,053;
    • Design and implement an outreach intervention for male leaders and faith-based leaders/influencers as champions of gender equality with zero tolerance for family violence – US$35,000;
    • Regional Spotlight Programme Intervention Creating an intersectional Caribbean model of behavioural and cultural change that will be developed in cooperation with CSO partners – US$75,000.

Professor Sterling Frost, Chair, IGDS SAU Gender Advisory Board (left), Dr Sue Ann Barratt, Head, IGDS (centre) and Mr. Richard Downie, President of the Bankers Association of T&T (right) sign the MOU for “Building the Responsiveness of IGDS Outreach through the Break The Silence Campaign and Associated Projects to end Gender-Based Violence”.

RCO represented in a UNESCO promotional video on Gender Equality for Virtual UN Jamaica Partnership Forum (October 20 - 22, 2021), which highlighted “The Caribbean Sheroes Phase 1 Project”.

 

CONCLUSION

The Institute through the collaboration and commitment of its staff made substantial gains in fulfilling its mandate, as well as advancing the objectives of The UWI’s Strategic Plan.