“Universal childcare access does not mean government has to do everything or that it has to be free of cost, it has to be affordable for parents and the most vulnerable of parents e.g., a single mother who is receiving public assistance."

UN Women MCO-Caribbean is supporting the Ministry of Social Transformation and Human Resource Development in Antigua and Barbuda, with the development of a database of beneficiaries for the country's main cash transfer programme for households living in poverty - the "Board of Guardians" programme.

In her statement to mark this year’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka says “if we all work together: governments, civil society organizations, the UN system, businesses, schools, and individuals mobilizing through new solidarity movements, we will eventually achieve a more equal world—a Planet 50-50—where women and girls can and will live free from violence”.

Over the years, UNIFEM/UN Women has had the benefit of partnership with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) in the Caribbean on such a range of issues - trade, green economy, political participation, governance.

Marking the 2012 observance of International Human Rights Day, Caribbean domestic workers pressed for official recognition of domestic work as valid work alongside other categories of work. A milestone they hope to achieve by the time another international day wends around - International Women’s Day in March 2013 - if not sooner.

Caribbean Women who are already active or aspiring to political or public leadershipare being offered an opportunity to develop and build on their leadership and governance capacities.