Introduction

The Institute for Gender and Development Studies (IGDS) had several achievements, opportunities, and challenges in 2022–2023. Consultations with stakeholders and revision of The UWI Gender Policy (2022) commenced as mandated by the UF&GPC. Simultaneously, Campus Principals were asked to finalise the formation of their Gender Task Forces, to facilitate implementation of the 2018 Gender Policy. The Institute’s staff was guided by fulfilment of the University’s Triple A Strategy 2022–2027, Phase II – The Revenue Revolution.

Access

The IGDS created opportunities for accessibility, participation, and delivery of quality academic programmes, student development, maintaining active research and publication output, continuing with collaborations and stakeholder support.

Teaching and learning

Teaching was delivered at undergraduate and graduate levels by all IGDS Units:

Undergraduate

A total of 727 students were registered in 28 courses:

• Mona Unit (MU) – 541 (including students from the Western Jamaica Campus) in 13 courses with 25 Majors;
• Nita Barrow Unit (NBU) – 157 in seven courses; and
• St. Augustine Unit (SAU) – 29 in eight courses with 8 Minors.

Graduate

A total of 76 students were registered as follows: 19 at the NBU, 28 at the SAU, and 29 at the Regional Coordinating Office (RCO) including students from the NBU.

Non-UWI customers

The IGDS designed and delivered training in various projects with the development of instructional and facilitation materials:

The NBU: delivered the 15th cycle of the Caribbean Institute for Gender and Development (CIGAD) to 28 regional and international participants and collaborated with Codrington College and representatives from other faith groups in a gender and religion working group, which resulted in the course “Gender, Religion and Feminism”, to be taught at both Codrington College and The UWI (NBU).

The SAU’s prepared a National Bush and Forest Fire Policy for the Fondes Amandes Community Reforestation Programme’s (FACRP) Bush and Forest Fire Mitigation Initiative in T&T and completed the “Break the Silence: End Child Sexual Abuse Bilingual Facilitators Toolkit for Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago”.

The RCO successfully delivered the Caribbean Sheroes Academy “Transforming MENtalities Edition” to 30 Caribbean youth advocates, based on the launched UNESCO Training Manual on Gender Equality, Advocacy and Development and the CSO Toolkit on Gender Equality. The online 12-credit Graduate Certificate Programme was approved for delivery in AY2024/2025 and is expected to reach a global audience.

Improving the quality of teaching, learning and student development

The Institute sought to improve the quality of teaching and learning, and supported students as follows:

The MU launched a new PhD Thesis Coaching initiative, in collaboration with the Office of Graduate Studies and Research, Mona, to support graduate throughput. Twenty-five non-completing PhD candidates were invited to join a year-long, free coaching programme to ensure completion and award of their PhDs. This effort represented a considerable donation of time and academic resources to institutional building at Mona.

Two Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) led by the SAU were offered:

Powerful Women and the Principles of Feminist Transformational Leadership, in September 2022, in collaboration with the MU, with 391 joiners from 81 countries worldwide as of May 2023.

Gender, Climate Justice and Food Systems Resilience in partnership with the Faculty of Food and Agriculture (FFA), St. Augustine campus and the IGDS, MU, launched in June 2023.

The IGDS strived to fulfil the “One UWI” mandate and action recommendations from the IGDS Governance Task Force Report by hosting the regional “IGDS Workshop Series for Graduate Students” in areas such as: Critical Reading, Writing a Literature Review, Building Skills in Academic Writing, and Data Collection, led by staff within the Units.

The NBU offered scholarships, paid internships and other paid opportunities on its outreach projects to its graduate students as professional development and service learning. The MPhil/PhD 'Check-In Workshop Tool' designed by Dr. Haynes was delivered online to IGDS and Cave Hill Cultural Studies students.

RCOs hosted a thesis defence for a PhD candidate, five graduate seminars were held by the NBU, including a PhD upgrade, and the SAU held two PhD and two MSc seminars.

Honours and awards

Titanya Williams graduated in November 2022 with First Class Honours from the MU’s BSc in Gender and Development programme.

Three RCO students/graduates received scholarships, and international recognition:

• Orlando Pearce – Catherine James Scholarship recipient and Erasmus+ and GRÓ Gender Equality Studies and Training (GRÓ GEST) scholarship for the GRÓ GEST postgraduate diploma programme in International Gender Equality Studies, completed May 2023;
• Nattecia Bohardsingh, one of four women selected globally for the Women PeaceMakers Fellowship 2022–2023, Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice, University of San Diego;
• Dr. Nadeen Spence received the Perry World House Visitorship at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) for AY2022/2023. The programme brought together policy and thought leaders globally to build connections with faculty and students at Penn, and to help shape the work of their research themes.

Three NBU graduate students received the Ann Denis Scholarship for Feminist Research for AY2022/2023, from funds bequeathed by Professor Ann Denis. PhD candidate Alicia Haynes presented at the Society for the Caribbean Studies Virtual Postgraduate Conference in April 2023 and at the Ninth World Conference on Women’s Studies in Thailand in May 2023.

In the SAU Dr. Gabrielle Hosein, Senior Lecturer, received a gold medal for the Development of Women, for her work in public education and advocacy, at the National Awards of Trinidad and Tobago in September 2022. Awards for Outstanding Work and Research were given to graduate students Psyche Gonzales (MSc Distinction) and Tivia Collins (High Commendation, PhD), at the SAU’s graduation celebration.

Improving the quality, quantity and impact of research, innovation, and publication

The IGDS staff focused on research and publications, contributing to knowledge generation at both the individual and collective levels:

Publication of the NBU’s co-edited books titled: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on COVID-19 and the Caribbean, Vol I: The State, Economy and Health and Interdisciplinary Perspectives on COVID-19 and the Caribbean, Vol II: Society, Education and Human Behaviour, with papers written by The UWI and IGDS staff.

The MU’s Gender-Responsive Training Manual for Farmers from the “Essex Valley: Gender-Responsive Economic Inclusion of Vulnerable Groups in Agriculture and Organisational Strengthening Project”, for the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Jamaica and MSBM.

Training Manual for The UWI Gender Policy (NBU & RCO).

The SAU’s “Making of Feminisms in the Caribbean” West Indiana and Special Collections and The UWI Space, Alma Jordan Library.

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 maintained activism and public advocacy programs during the AY, particularly during internationally observed days, including International Women’s Day (IWD), International Men’s Day (IMD), International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (IDEVAW) and 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.

The MU’s IMD symposium under the theme: "Fostering Friendship: The Sociocultural Value of Strong Male Bonds"; and a silent march on the Mona Campus to raise awareness about the urgent need to eliminate violence against women, to commemorate IDEVAW.

The NBU hosted two public lectures: entitled “Story and Solution: Representation of Violence Against Women in Caribbean Literature” for IWD, and the Caribbean Women Catalyst for Change Lecture in memory of Dame Nita Barrow for IDEVAW. The Unit also hosted “Arts for Activism” with the British and Canadian High Commissions (Barbados) for IDEVAW.

The RCO hosted three seminars/panel discussions to commemorate IWD and International Women’s History Month. Panellists included women from the Caribbean, Iran, Nepal, India, and South Africa; the Vice-Chancellor’s online forum on “Men Fostering Gender Justice”, to commemorate IMD; collaboration with the Centre for Reparations Research, National Reparations Council, the United Maroon Indigenous Peoples and the Yamaye Council of Indigenous Leaders (YCOIL), to host the UN Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples (IPs) Rights, Mr. José Fransisco Cali Tzay, in Jamaica and at The UWI from March 25 – April 2, 2023.

SAU partnered with the International Peace Research Association to host the 29th Conference in Trinidad and Tobago themed: “Rooted Futures: Collective Visions of Peace and Justice” in May 2023, and also organised a road march to commemorate IWD.

Increase and improve academic/industry research partnerships

The Units submitted several research grant proposals working assiduously on advancing and concluding existing funded projects while commencing new ones.

MU

• Spotlight Initiative Activity: Review and update VAWG Awareness in the training curriculum for pre-service and in-service teachers and school leaders/administrators.
• A Situational Analysis of Underperforming Boys (16–24) years in Jamaica) for the Commonwealth of Learning Canada (COL).

NBU

• Building Climate-smart Livelihoods through Opportunity, Outreach and Membership (BLOOM) project, funded by the British High Commission;
• Digital Enquirer Toolkit project, funded by Deutsche Gesellschaft für
• Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH – module on understanding online Gender-Based Violence;
• EU’s Livity Project was a seven-country, five-year project designed to address marginalisation, discrimination and exclusion of persons in marginalised groups.

RCO

• UNDP Spotlight Initiative Project: Legislative Reform to Eliminate Violence against Women and Girls and Family Violence in Jamaica;
• 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 II Transforming MENtalities Initiative;
• USAID Positive Pathways Activity in Jamaica Project;
• Expanding Capacity: Collaborative Participatory Action Research in the Caribbean Region through a Decolonial Gender Approach to Achieve Self-Determination.

SAU

• Bankers Association of T&T and Pan American Development Foundation Break the Silence: End Child Sexual Abuse (BTS:ECSA): evidence-based advocacy to end gender-based violence; a train-the-trainers programme to build capacity of persons to use the bilingual toolkits in Spanish migrant communities;
• Gender and Climate Change collaboration with FARCP providing technical assistance: to support and prepare a national bush and forest fire policy through consultation and a toolkit;
• Spotlight Initiative – Assessment and Alignment of the Health and Family Life Education (HFLE) Curricula and Teacher Training to aid in prevention of family violence;
• Spotlight Initiative Project – 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.

AGILITY

The Institute generated funds, mobilised resources and built partnerships at local, national and international levels:

MU

• Generated JM $11,019,934/ US $70,968.37 from students’ fees.

NBU

• Digital Enquirer Toolkit Module 5 on Understanding Online Gender-Based Violence – € 30,000, funded by the German Agency for International Cooperation GmBH;
• BLOOM Project, funded by the British High Commission – BB $59,849.00;
• LIVITY Project with the Barbados Council for the Disabled and Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality (ECADE) – BB $993,000.

RCO

• Tuition from the self-financed MSc Programme – JM $3,824,000;
• UNDP Spotlight Initiative Project: Legislative Reform to Eliminate Violence against Women and Girls and Family Violence in Jamaica – US $45,000;
• Sponsorship for the visit of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples Issues – US $30,000;
• UNDP Spotlight Initiative Caribbean Regional Programme: Strengthening Regional Cooperation to Prevent and Respond to Family Violence in the Caribbean – US $49,995.00.

SAU

• Data collection on women’s movement involvement in Child Marriage and Early Unions (CMEU) – US $143,000;
• Revision of HFLE curriculum to include GBV– US $94,000;
• Theory of Change for a Caribbean Model of Behavioural and Cultural Change – US $75,000;
• UNDP – Consultancy to Develop a Gender Mainstreaming Roadmap in the Commonwealth of Dominica – US $35,000.

CONCLUSION

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