Women’s groups are increasingly becoming vehicles for social, political, and economic empowerment (NEHA KUMAR, 2018). Caribbean women advocated for women's rights drawing on a historical legacy of women's resistance and influenced by the first wave of the international feminist movement of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Their history of organizing includes religious and social welfare organisations, civic and political organisations, trade unions, and women's arms of political parties (Rawwida Baksh, 2013).
The Women's Self-help movement was one of the earliest manifestations, where a colonial governor’s wife organised white women to teach poor women housewifery skills and initiated income generating projects based on needle work skills. The Women's Self-help association in Barbados was a charitable organisation founded by Lady Gertrude Codman Carter (wife of Sir Gilbert Carter, Governor of Barbados (1904-1911) and a group of Barbadian women in 1907 (Clutterbuck-Cook, 2017). The organisation enabled women to maintain themselves and their families (Bulletin of the Pan American Union). The aim of the Association was to provide a ready and safe medium for the sale and purchase of various works made by it members:
The organization arranged for what today we might consider a “fair trade” shop in Bridgetown, Barbados, where women could sell handicrafts and artwork to tourists as a means of adding to the family income. Edward Albes of the Pan-American Union wrote approvingly of the shop upon visiting Bridgetown in 1913: In the salesroom of the association may be found picture postals, photographs, curios, Indian pottery, lace, embroidery and fancy needlework, homemade jellies, cakes, pies, light lunches, delicious ices, etc., and all at remarkably low prices. The association…is maintained by the ladies of Barbados, and is a splendid example of practical benevolence (Clutterbuck-Cook).
Drawing from this, one can say that the organisation allowed for the development of entrepreneurial skills of low-income women, who were involved in it. It allowed them to produce items to sell giving them a sense of economic enfranchisement and by extension, assistance in raising them out of poverty.
The organization did not only help women with the promotion of their products, it also played a role in organised movements. So much so that an examination of women’s participation in the disturbances of the 1930s suggests not only that women played a major role in these uprisings, but they were motivated by the burden of responsibility for the social and economic welfare and their families in the matriarchal societies (Cheris Kramarae, 2004). Furthermore, in most of the territories, women's first exposure to organized mass movement was through church groups and community associations such as the Women’s Self Help Association (Cheris Kramarae, 2004)
However, at its start, the Barbados Women’s Self Help Association catered primarily to the needs of white women and middle-class non-white women ladies often from the top echelons of society (Kramarae):
Indeed, throughout the Caribbean, women from the middle and upper class initially led the struggle for suffrage and basic rights...by the 1920s, however, Afro-Caribbean women began to promote their own interests... in Barbados, women began pressing for greater involvement in the political process as early as 1951, when Barbados polled its first universal adult suffrage. That year Barbados elected its first woman, Ermie Bourne Senior, to the house of assembly. Since that time, the senate has averaged six women members per session. In 1995, the Dover Accord conference in Barbados endorsed a quota system for women’s participation in political parties and government...That same year, Barbados elected a woman, Dame Billie Miller, as deputy Prime Minister. The women’s movement on the Island was further aided by the appointed of Dame Nita Barrow as governor general. In office, Barrow was important to the promotion of primary health care programs (Cheris Kramarae, 2004)
One can conclude that the women's self-help association aided in, pushing government to get involved in the economic enfranchisement of Barbadian women. Which is evident, seeing as though, the “Government of Barbados has been quite actively supporting women entrepreneurship through training and trade fairs” (Ferdinand, 2001). Additionally, Within Barbados Government’s Sectoral Plan 1993-2000, there is a clear outline of the policy framework for women’s entrepreneurship which states inter alia (among other things), that:
Strategies and measures aimed at the fuller integration of women in the development process will be formulated and implemented. Economic and social development policies and programmes must seek to address disadvantages experienced by women (Ferdinand, 2001).
The Government also acknowledges that the enhancing of women’s skills, the encouraging of new employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for women as well as the encouragement of increased involvement of women in business ventures (all of which the Women's Self-help association provided) are preconditions for the successful implementation of the principles previously mentioned (Ferdinand, 2001). Thus, training programmes in productive activities were introduced and cooperative ventures, self-help enterprises and joint ventures were facilitated and encouraged as well as measures adopted which promoted the increased involvement of women in export activity (Ferdinand, 2001)
This further reiterates the point the Women’s Self Help Association was a trailblazer for women’s upward mobility. Firstly, it directly assisted women in selling their crafts, thus creating a direct link to income, but it also got women involved in movements, politics and policy-making to create better working conditions for women, while pushing some out of poverty.
The Women's Self-help Association helped women for 100 years as of was closed in 2011. Women have been (and still are) organizing for a long time and have been doing so amongst themselves as well as within society. Thus they have been playing an active role in ensuring their own upward social mobility and economic enfranchisement, evidently in creating entrepreneurial and professional women.
The Women's Self-help movement was one of the earliest manifestations, where a colonial governor’s wife organised white women to teach poor women housewifery skills and initiated income generating projects based on needle work skills. The Women's Self-help association in Barbados was a charitable organisation founded by Lady Gertrude Codman Carter (wife of Sir Gilbert Carter, Governor of Barbados (1904-1911) and a group of Barbadian women in 1907 (Clutterbuck-Cook, 2017). The organisation enabled women to maintain themselves and their families (Bulletin of the Pan American Union). The aim of the Association was to provide a ready and safe medium for the sale and purchase of various works made by it members:
The organization arranged for what today we might consider a “fair trade” shop in Bridgetown, Barbados, where women could sell handicrafts and artwork to tourists as a means of adding to the family income. Edward Albes of the Pan-American Union wrote approvingly of the shop upon visiting Bridgetown in 1913: In the salesroom of the association may be found picture postals, photographs, curios, Indian pottery, lace, embroidery and fancy needlework, homemade jellies, cakes, pies, light lunches, delicious ices, etc., and all at remarkably low prices. The association…is maintained by the ladies of Barbados, and is a splendid example of practical benevolence (Clutterbuck-Cook).
Drawing from this, one can say that the organisation allowed for the development of entrepreneurial skills of low-income women, who were involved in it. It allowed them to produce items to sell giving them a sense of economic enfranchisement and by extension, assistance in raising them out of poverty.
The organization did not only help women with the promotion of their products, it also played a role in organised movements. So much so that an examination of women’s participation in the disturbances of the 1930s suggests not only that women played a major role in these uprisings, but they were motivated by the burden of responsibility for the social and economic welfare and their families in the matriarchal societies (Cheris Kramarae, 2004). Furthermore, in most of the territories, women's first exposure to organized mass movement was through church groups and community associations such as the Women’s Self Help Association (Cheris Kramarae, 2004)
However, at its start, the Barbados Women’s Self Help Association catered primarily to the needs of white women and middle-class non-white women ladies often from the top echelons of society (Kramarae):
Indeed, throughout the Caribbean, women from the middle and upper class initially led the struggle for suffrage and basic rights...by the 1920s, however, Afro-Caribbean women began to promote their own interests... in Barbados, women began pressing for greater involvement in the political process as early as 1951, when Barbados polled its first universal adult suffrage. That year Barbados elected its first woman, Ermie Bourne Senior, to the house of assembly. Since that time, the senate has averaged six women members per session. In 1995, the Dover Accord conference in Barbados endorsed a quota system for women’s participation in political parties and government...That same year, Barbados elected a woman, Dame Billie Miller, as deputy Prime Minister. The women’s movement on the Island was further aided by the appointed of Dame Nita Barrow as governor general. In office, Barrow was important to the promotion of primary health care programs (Cheris Kramarae, 2004)
One can conclude that the women's self-help association aided in, pushing government to get involved in the economic enfranchisement of Barbadian women. Which is evident, seeing as though, the “Government of Barbados has been quite actively supporting women entrepreneurship through training and trade fairs” (Ferdinand, 2001). Additionally, Within Barbados Government’s Sectoral Plan 1993-2000, there is a clear outline of the policy framework for women’s entrepreneurship which states inter alia (among other things), that:
Strategies and measures aimed at the fuller integration of women in the development process will be formulated and implemented. Economic and social development policies and programmes must seek to address disadvantages experienced by women (Ferdinand, 2001).
The Government also acknowledges that the enhancing of women’s skills, the encouraging of new employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for women as well as the encouragement of increased involvement of women in business ventures (all of which the Women's Self-help association provided) are preconditions for the successful implementation of the principles previously mentioned (Ferdinand, 2001). Thus, training programmes in productive activities were introduced and cooperative ventures, self-help enterprises and joint ventures were facilitated and encouraged as well as measures adopted which promoted the increased involvement of women in export activity (Ferdinand, 2001)
This further reiterates the point the Women’s Self Help Association was a trailblazer for women’s upward mobility. Firstly, it directly assisted women in selling their crafts, thus creating a direct link to income, but it also got women involved in movements, politics and policy-making to create better working conditions for women, while pushing some out of poverty.
The Women's Self-help Association helped women for 100 years as of was closed in 2011. Women have been (and still are) organizing for a long time and have been doing so amongst themselves as well as within society. Thus they have been playing an active role in ensuring their own upward social mobility and economic enfranchisement, evidently in creating entrepreneurial and professional women.
Bibliography
Cheris Kramarae, D. S. (2004). Global Women's Issues
and Knowledge. In D. S. Cheris Kramarae, Routledge International
Encyclopedia of Women. Taylor & Francis.
Clutterbuck-Cook, A. (2017, May 5). Gertrude
Codman Carter’s Diary, May 1917. Retrieved from Masshist.org:
http://www.masshist.org/beehiveblog/2017/05/gertrude-codman-carters-diary-may-1917/
Ferdinand, C. (2001). JOBS, GENDER AND SMALL
ENTERPRISES IN THE CARIBBEAN. Geneva.
NEHA KUMAR, K. R. (2018, March 7). International
Women's Day: Self-help groups aid communication, empowerment in India.
Retrieved from IFPRI.org:
http://www.ifpri.org/blog/international-womens-day-self-help-groups-aid-communication-empowerment-india
Rawwida Baksh, L. V. (2013). Women’s citizenship the
democracies of the Americas . In L. V. Rawwida Baksh, Women’s citizenship
in the democracies of the Americas: the English-speaking Caribbean.
United States Congressional Serial Set, Volume 6475.
(1913).
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