Business and Economic Commentary
Introduction
It took 136 years for the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry to elect a woman – Mrs. Kathy Smith – as its President. While that milestone is welcome, it underscores just how far Guyana still has to go in honouring its constitutional promise to women. While considerably younger, the more powerful Private Sector Commission does everything to sideline women as its leader. The promise of equality enshrined in Article 29 of the Constitution of Guyana, is a distant dream. This is what Article 29 states.
“Women’s participation in the various management and decision-making processes, whether private, public or state, shall be encouraged and facilitated by laws enacted for that purpose or otherwise.”
It does not need to be elevated to a fundamental right: there is an article against any form of discrimination. It is not aspirational: it is binding. And yet, over 40 years since an equivalent provision was included in the controversial Constitution in 1980, its implementation has moved incredibly slowly. This may have explained the choice of the topic by acting Chancellor Yonette Cummings-Edwards in a lecture honouring Dame Desiree Bernard, the first woman judge, first woman Chancellor of the Judiciary, and the first woman on the Caribbean Court of Justice. It was an occasion for reflection – and lament.
Progress and reality
During the 1990s, Guyana saw a brief but hopeful period of progressive legislative reform. This included the landmark Domestic Violence Act of 1996, the Equal Rights Act, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1995, and the first serious efforts to address sexual harassment and gender-based violence. These measures, hard-won through years of advocacy and the leadership of Cheddi Jagan, suggested the beginning of a new era. But the momentum has faded, almost standing still. Since the early 2000s, little legislative advancement has addressed gender inequality. The silence around Article 29 is part of that broader stagnation.
The statistics tell the story. Only two of the thirteen companies listed on the Guyana Stock Exchange are chaired by women, one effectively non-trading, and the other of comparatively small capitalisation but as well led as any of the others. Women lead only three of fourteen key public agencies and account for only 19% of Guyana’s ambassadors. The private sector is even more male-dominated, with almost all leading business organisations headed by men.
Only nine of the forty-two recently reviewed companies, agencies and missions had women in top leadership roles – just 21%. Politically, the imbalance is more severe: the five top government positions are held by men, and every major political party—PPP/C, PNCR, AFC, WPA, and ANUG—is male-led. It will take a more scientific analysis to determine any link between gender and the state of politics and governance in Guyana. Even in professions like law and accountancy, where women now match or exceed men in numbers, leadership remains overwhelmingly male. Women are often confined to leadership in “care” sectors or social organisations, reinforcing outdated ideas about their appropriate role in public life.
Two ironies in the judiciary stand out. First, the Chancellor and the Chief Justice – both distinguished and experienced women – remain in acting positions, their appointments blocked by the refusal of a single man, the President, to confirm them. Second, at the Chancellor’s lecture, sponsored by the Guyana Associa-tion of Women Judges, only one of six male judges of the Court attended. Their absence said more than words could.
Other salient concerns
But the failure to honour Article 29 is about exclusion, fear, silence, and even danger. Domestic violence and femicide are endemic in Guyana. Even women in high office face indignity. Sitting in the front row of UG’s main lecturer theatre was Ms. Priya Manickchand, Minister of Education having been publicly berated by the President – an incident still proudly displayed on his Facebook page. No Cabinet colleague, male or female, defended her. To her discredit, she stood there and took it, some days later posing with the President.
Beyond politics
Contrast that with the case of a male Minister in the Cabinet who was accused and exonerated of heinous sexual misconduct. Female colleagues expressed disgust privately but said nothing publicly, fearing retaliation or isolation. That man is now being rehabilitated by the male leadership of the Government. In Guyanese politics, showing moral independence -especially if you are a woman – is often interpreted as disloyalty. Speaking out can mean career exile, character attacks, and personal risk. This toxic culture rewards silence and punishes principles.
The problem, of course, extends beyond politics. Our social and economic landscape often forces women into conformity – staying in abusive relationships, remaining silent at work, or avoiding leadership ambitions – because of financial dependency, social norms, or fear of ostracism. To our country’s discredit, for too many women, the stark choice is between survival and self-expression.
Conclusion
If Article 29 is to mean anything, Guyana must move beyond lip service and take concrete action. Laws must be passed to give teeth to its command, and institutions and individuals must be held accountable for promoting – not just permitting – women’s leadership. Cultural change must follow, breaking the social norms that silence women or push them into submission for the sake of survival.
Chancellor Cummings-Edwards asked: “Have we arrived?” Her reply: “We are there, but there is still more to go.” I must respectfully express my doubts. When leadership remains overwhelmingly male, when women are berated in public and silenced in private, and when a promise like Article 29 goes unfulfilled for decades, the journey has barely begun.
Until women are no longer blocked, silenced, or punished for leading, Article 29 will remain not just a broken promise – but a standing indictment of Guyana’s democratic conscience and of our society.