Dana Cameron graphic taken from the booklet 'CEDAW for Jamaicans'.

Flair continues its series on women's rights as discussed by the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and presented in the booklet 'CEDAW for Jamaicans'.

In some Jamaican schools, boys are encouraged to pursue technical subjects, girls are encouraged to pursue domestic subjects and the timetable is created in such a way that a student has to do one or the other.

This situation reinforces gender stereotypes that certain subjects are for boys (metalwork/technical drawing) and for girls (home economics and cosmetology).

Girls and boys have the RIGHT to choose the subjects that they want to pursue. The time-table and curriculum should not create any restrictions on this choice.

While in the August 2006 report on Jamaica of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Thirty-sixth session commended the Government of Jamaica on its achievements in the field of girls' and women's education, it remained concerned with the persistence of structural barriers, such as de facto gender-based segregation in the field of education.

Cross-timetabling

This included the practice of cross-timetabling, or conflicting class schedules that effectively prevent girls from pursuing courses of study traditionally offered to boys, and its consequences for women's opportunities in the labour market.

The report also noted its concern with the persistence of gender-based stereotypes in textbooks, school curricula and teaching methods that reinforce discriminatory attitudes against women in society.

The committee called on the Jamaican Government to strengthen implementation of its efforts to tackle, through the education system, the structural causes of the persistent discriminatory attitudes against women.

Clear time frame

The committee called on the Government of Jamaica to set a clear time frame for the introduction of gender-sensitive educational curricula and teaching methods that address the structural and cultural causes of discrimination against women, and to incorporate sensitisation training for teachers both pre- and in-service. It also invited the Government to monitor, systematically, the impact of measures taken in relation to stated goals and to take corrective measures whenever necessary.

The committee also expressed concern that, despite high educational qualifications, women continue to be underpaid and underemployed, and face horizontal and vertical sex segregation in the labour market.

The committee was concerned about the lack of legislation prohibiting sexual harassment in the workplace, and the vulnerable situation of domestic workers who are entitled to receive maternity benefits under the National Insurance Scheme.

Excerpted from 'CEDAW for Jamaicans', produced by the Women's Resource and Outreach Centre, Kingston, and the August 2006 report on Jamaica of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Thirty-sixth session. E-mail wroc@cwjamaica.com.