Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Transformation, Samantha Marshall has
made the case for targeted strategies to better enable women to cope with the
impact of natural disasters and climate change.
Sen. Marshall made the point as a panelist on one of the discussions taking place at
the margins of the 54th Regular Session of the Organisation of American States
(OAS) General Assembly being held in Asuncion, Paraguay.
Minister Marshall is attending a number of side events and engagements being put
on by the Inter-American Executive committee on Women, the CIM, on which
Antigua and Barbuda is currently serving a 3-year term being represented by
Minister Marshall.
On Wednesday, Minister Marshall was a featured panelist alongside other OAS
Gender Affairs Ministers, where they discussed women’s leadership in conflict and
crisis.
“In this discussion, Minister Marshall highlighted the need to recognize the
disproportionate impact that natural disasters and climate change have on women
and girls and emphasized the need to empower them and increase their resilience
through strategic and targeted measures. Minister Marshall also highlighted how
technology such as artificial intelligence and STEM education can be used as a
means to strengthen women’s capacity and increase their opportunities to become
leaders,” a release from the ministry indicated.
Minister Marshall will also be attending and participating in events looking at
women’s rights and access to justice in rural settings, achieving gender equality in
international and multilateral decision making spaces, and will also be attending an
official meeting of the CIM Executive Inter-American committee on women,
where they will be discussing their workplan for the year and setting priorities for
action, in areas such as women’s political participation, gender-based violence and
climate change.
Minister Marshall is being accompanied and supported on this mission by
Executive Director of the Directorate of Gender Affairs, Jamie Saunders.
