BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - Both houses of the Barbados Parliament have been constituted and the Throne Speech has been delivered as the new administration sits down to begin its business in what is going to be an interesting period of our parliamentary life. One aspect of being a responsible paper is that we function as a paper of record; for in future generations researchers and others will no doubt draw upon our pages to ascertain what happened in our times and to read about our views and attitudes to those events which occurred at that time. We note with pleasure that the Opposition is once again led by a female, and that the Deputy Speakership has been conferred on Mara Thompson, the widow of the former and late Prime Minister David Thompson. These appointments may be regarded by some as ordinary matters, but they speak volumes for the equality of sexes since it is one more assertion of a proper approach which holds that once a person is qualified for a position that person’s gender will not matter to right-thinking Barbadians.