Celebrating International Women’s Day with Research & Action!
Date:
UN Women’s Monique Long and Jessica Gill (far right) engaging with (from left) UN Resident Coordinator Dennis Zulu, UWI Mona Deputy Principal Dr. Tomlin Paul, Head of IGDS Mona Dr. Dalea Bean and Dr Halimah DeShong, University Director, IGDS UWI Regional Headquarters, Jamaica. UN Women Photos/Dorian Clarke
March 21, 2025 - Kingston, Jamaica: UN Women Muti-Country Office (MCO) - Caribbean, in partnership with the Institute for Gender and Development Studies (IGDS) at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, and the United Nations Country Team in Jamaica commemorated International Women’s Day 2025 by hosting a landmark symposium under the theme ‘Research for ALL Women and Girls in Jamaica’.
Taking place on UWI Research Day, March 13th, the symposium presented a key opportunity for IWD celebrations to align with the Research Day 2025 theme, “The UWI Mona: Driving Jamaican, Caribbean and Global Development.”
The UWI/UN Research Day symposium was an important opportunity for a multidisciplinary group of stakeholders to engage in meaningful dialogue and celebrate and showcase women- led and women-focused research.
Dr Halimah DeShong, University Director, Institute for Gender and Development Studies, UWI Regional Headquarters, Jamaica moderated a multi-disciplinary panel discussion on ‘The State of Research on women and girls in Jamaica - Mapping progress, Addressing Gaps’. Panellists from UN Women and various UWI faculties and departments engaged in an insightful discussion on key bodies of research that have been instrumental in promoting the rights of women and girls in Jamaica.
Monique Long, Planning and Coordination Specialist, UN Women MCO - Caribbean presented research from the National Study on the Economic Cost of Violence against Women and Girls as well as key statistics on the prevalence of violence against women in Jamaica from the 2016 Women’s Health Survey. The panel also highlighted new and emerging research projects that will accelerate national efforts towards gender equality.
Participants were drawn from academia, government entities, civil society organisations, international development organisations including UN agencies, and researchers and students, to advance the conversation on women's empowerment in Jamaica, and to acknowledge the importance of research and data in driving these efforts.
Eighteen organisations set up booths to showcase and distribute knowledge products, research and resources on issues impacting women and girls in Jamaica. Over 100 students were able to engage with the resource officers and receive information from the Bureau of Gender Affairs, the Institute for Gender and Development Studies, the Caribbean Research and Policy Institute (CAPRI), and UN agencies and international development partners including UN Women, UNESCO, UNFPA and UNDP. UNEP, UNICEF and the World Bank.
Civil Society Organisations working on women’s rights issues and supporting vulnerable groups were also represented, including HerFlow Foundation, the Women’s Resource and Outreach Centre, WMW Jamaica, Groundings with My Sisters and Jamaica AIDS Support for Life. The youth perspective was represented by the Youth-For-Development Network, I’m Glad I’m A Girl Foundation and the Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network.
UN Resident Coordinator Dennis Zulu and the Deputy Principal Dr. Tomlin Paul attended the event and were led on a tour of the various booths by Dr. Dalea Bean, Head of IGDS Mona and the wider IGDS team. They engaged with all agencies on their displayed materials relating to gender, and existing and upcoming research and advocacy initiatives.
The event concluded with an honest and refreshing graduate student dialogue on ‘Surviving Grad School: My Life, The Degree and Me” moderated by Carla Moore, IGDS Assistant Lecturer and PhD candidate.
As 2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, data and research which explore and document the needs and realities of women and girls in all their diversity continues to be imperative to drive action for gender equality.
