Minister of Social Services, Information and Broadcasting, the Hon. Myles Laroda traveled to New York City where he is attending the United Nations Commission On The Status Of Women.

Twelve topics concerning women are being discussed at this sixty-nineth session of the conference. They include violence against women, women and poverty, education and training and women in health. Laroda said, “we in The Bahamas know that since 1995 there have been a lot of improvements yet we still have a way to go. There’s still issues with the disparity in pay among women. There’s still the issue of women being represented in Parliament based on their percentage of the population and other issues. And so while improvements have been made, advancements have been made, there’s still a lot of way for us to go as it relates to further advancement and ensuring that there’s true gender equity.”

Minister Laroda also served chair of Commonwealth Women’s Affairs. He spoke of the support The Bahamas received when he spoke at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. “I led of by stating that the Speaker of House is a woman, that the President of the Senate is a woman. I mention that there are various ministries that are headed by women and you’d be amazed the round of applause that that statement invoked in the room. We since have a Commissioner of Police that is a female so clearly The Bahamas is way ahead of a lot of countries as it relates to women and the role that they’re playing in leadership in the country.”

The conference ends on March 21ss