In 1983, CARICOM celebrated its 10th anniversary and during a meeting of Ministers of Women’s Affairs to commemorate this event, it was recognized that the 1973 Treaty of Chaguaramas addressed the need to examine the position of women in the Region. Evolving out of the deliberations at the meeting of Ministers was the recommendation to confer an Award to an outstanding CARICOM woman whose work had made a significant contribution to the socio-economic development of the Caribbean. In response, the CARICOM Secretariat introduced the CARICOM Triennial Award for Women
The Rt. Hon. Dame Janet Gwennett Bostwick, counsel and attorney, is known as a model politician and pioneer among women in The Bahamas. She is admired and respected as a champion for the empowerment of women, not only in her native Commonwealth of The Bahamas, but also in the region and beyond.
Dr. Lucille Mathurin Mair is undoubtedly a Caribbean citizen of great intellectual stature and high international repute and of whom all the Caribbean is proud. For her outstanding service as a diplomat, scholar and women’s rights activist she was accorded the highly deserved honour of fifth recipient of the CARICOM Triennial Award in 1996.
Dr. Peggy Antrobus, third recipient of the CARICOM Triennial Award in 1990, has a true Caribbean cross-national identity. She was born in Grenada, acquired citizenship of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and now resides in Barbados. Her vast and much recognized work and contributions in the area of women’s affairs has earned her respect, admiration and acclaim both regionally and internationally. In preparation for a lifetime of service to the region that can, at the least, be described as illustrious and exceptional, Dr.
The Honourable Madam Justice Desiree Bernard, the first female judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice was conferred with the honour of the eighth CARICOM Triennial Award for Women. A lawyer by profession, she began her career in 1963 when she attained a Bachelor of Laws Degree from the University of London. By 1964 she was a qualified Solicitor and practiced in the Guyana Law Courts until 1980, when she was appointed the first female judge in the High Court of the Supreme Court of Guyana, where she had practiced since 1965.
Magda Lois Muriel Pollard, national of Guyana, and stalwart women’s activist was fittingly bestowed the honour of the fourth CARICOM Triennial Award for Women in 1993. Throughout her country of birth and the wider Caribbean region, the name Magda Pollard is synonymous with the movement for women’s empowerment and women’s rights. The creation of a liberating and sustaining environment for women is the passion which fuels her lifelong and consistent service in the arena of women’s development.
Marion Bethel, Bahamian by birth and quintessential Caribbean woman, is a distinguished attorney, scholar, poet, film-maker, essayist and short-story writer who has gained national, regional and international recognition and acclaim for her advocacy in the areas of gender equality and human rights.
It was most likely that Nesta Patrick, first recipient of the CARICOM Triennial Award for Women, accepted the Honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) conferred on her by the University of the West Indies at St. Augustine in 2001 with characteristic humility and pride. This marked another milestone in the accomplished life of Ms. Patrick, acclaimed women’s rights activist, social worker and advocate for the recognition of the mentally challenged.
CITATION IN HONOUR OF PROFESSOR BARBARA BAILEY ON THE OCCASION OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE NINTH CARICOM TRIENNIAL AWARD FOR WOMEN, 1 JULY 2008, DICKENSON BAY, ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
In acknowledgement of her exceptional career accomplishments,Professor Joycelin Massiah was conferred the CARICOM Triennial Award for Women in 1996. A true Caribbean citizen, Professor Massiah’s life path transcends Caribbean boundaries having been born in Guyana, studied and worked for several years in Jamaica and now residing as a citizen of Barbados.
Professor Rhoda Reddock, national of Trinidad and Tobago and esteemed scholar of the Caribbean Community, is the seventh outstanding woman from the Caribbean Community to receive the CARICOM Triennial Award for Women.