| Women in Politics in Barbados |
| Women acquired the right to vote and to become members of either House of Parliament in Barbados in 1944. In 1948, Mrs. Muriel Hanschell was appointed to the Legislative Council, the first woman member of either House. In the first general election under adult suffrage in December 1951, Edna Ermyntrude Bourne (later Dame Edna) of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP), was the first woman to be elected as a member of the House of Assembly. She represented St. Andrew until 1961. Twenty years later (1971-1976), Gertrude Eastmond of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) was elected to parliament as a member of the Democratic Labour Party.
In 1976, Billie Miller (now Dame Billie) was the third female elected to Parliament and a year later was appointed the first female Minister of Government in the new BLP administration. Dame Billie also has the distinction of being the first woman Deputy Prime Minister and first woman Chairman of the BLP. Previously, Odessa Gittens (1966-1971) was appointed Parliamentary Secretary of Education and Gertrude Eastmond (1971-1976) was Parliamentary Secretary of Health and Welfare.
Since Dame Billie, seven other women have been elected to the House of Assembly – Mazie Barker Welch (DLP, 1986-1991), Mia Mottley (BLP, 1994-present), Elizabeth Thompson (BLP, 1994-2008), Cynthia Forde (BLP, 2001-present), Esther Byer-Suckoo (DLP, 2008-2013), Mara Thompson (DLP, 2011-present), and Santia Bradshaw (BLP, 2013-present).
Mia Mottley also has the distinction of being the country's first woman Attorney General, and first woman Leader of the Opposition. She is the country's second woman Deputy Prime Minister. |
| TRAILBLAZERS |
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Muriel HANSCHELL
First woman appointed to the Legislative Council |
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Edna Ermyntrude BOURNE
First woman elected to House of Assembly |
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Hazeline Odessa GITTENS
First woman Parliamentary Secretary |
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Billie Antoinette MILLER
First woman Cabinet Minister and Deputy Prime Minister |
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Kerryann F. IFILL
First woman President of the Senate of Barbados |
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Mia Amor MOTTLEY
First woman Attorney General, and Leader of the Opposition |
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| WOMEN IN THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY OF BARBADOS |
| Edna Ermyntrude Bourne was the first women to be elected to the House of Assembly of Barbados. She served as the Member of Parliament for St. Andrew from 1951 to 1961. Since Dane Edna, 10 have been elected to the House of Assembly. |
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| WOMEN IN THE SENATE OF BARBADOS |
| Several women have been appointed to the Senate of Barbados. Current President of the Senate, Her Honour Kerryann F. Ifill is the first woman to serve in that role. |
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| WOMEN IN THE CABINET OF BARBADOS |
| H. Odessa Gittens was the firs woman to be appointed as a Parliamentary Secretary in Barbados, serving as Parliamentary Sectary of Education from 1966 to 1971 in the Barrow Administration. Billie Antoinette Miller was the first woman to be appointed a Minister of Government. During her tenure as Minister under successive Barbados Labour Party Administrations, her various portfolios included Health, Education, Foreign Affairs, Tourism, and Trade. Dame Billie served as Deputy Prime Minister from 1994 to 2003. She was succeeded in the role by Mia Amor Mottley, who served as Deputy Prime Minister from 2003 to 2008. Ms. Mottley is the current Leader of the Opposition in Barbados, the first woman to hold that post. |
| Photo |
Name |
Party |
Post |
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H. Odessa GITTENS |
DLP |
1966 - 1971 Parliamentary Secretary of Education |
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Gertrude EASTMOND |
DLP |
1971 - 1976 Parliamentary Secretary of Health and Welfare |
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Dame Billie Antoinette MILLER |
BLP |
1976 - 1981: Minister of Health and Insurance
1981 - 1986: Minister of Education
1985 - 1986: Minister of Culture
1994 - 2003: Deputy Prime Minister
1994 - 2008: Minister of Foreign Affairs
1994 - 1995: Minister of Foreign Trade and International Business
1995 - 1999: Minister of Tourism and International Transport
1999 - 2008: Minister of Foreign Trade
2003 - 2008: Senior Minister |
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Maizie BARKER-WELCH |
DLP |
1985 - 1986: Parliamentary Secretary of Education and Culture
1986 - 1990: Parliamentary Secretary of Labour and Community Development
1990 - 1994: Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister
1994: Parliamentary Secretary of Civil Service, Labour, Industrial Relations, Public Works and Community Development and Sports in the Office of the Prime Minister |
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Mia A. MOTTLEY |
BLP |
1994 - 2001: Minister of Education, Culture and Youth
2001 - 2006: Attorney General and Minister of Home Affairs
2001 - 2008: Leader of the House
2003 - 2008: Deputy Prime Minister
2006 - 2008: Minister of Economic Affairs and Development |
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H. Elizabeth THOMPSON |
BLP |
1994 - 1999: Minister of Health and the Environment
2001: Minister of the Environment
2001 - 2003: Minister of Physical Development
2003 - 2006: Minister of Housing and Lands
2006 - 2008: Minister of Energy |
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Cynthia Y. FORDE |
BLP |
1994 - 1995: Parliamentary Secretary of Education, Youth Affairs and Culture
1995 - 1999: Parliamentary Secretary of Finance and Economic Affairs
1999 - 2001: Parliamentary Secretary of Education, Youth Affairs and
Culture
2001 - 2008: Minister of State for Education, Youth Affairs and Culture; |
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Lynette EASTMOND |
BLP |
2003: Minister of Labour and Social Security
2003 - 2008: Minister of Commerce, Consumer Affairs and Business Development |
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Esther BYER-SUCKOO |
DLP |
2008: Minister of Environment
2008 - 2010: Minister of Family, Youth Affairs, Sports
2010 - 2013: Minister of Labour and Social Security
2013 - present: Minister of Labour, Social Security, and Human Resource Development |
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Maxine McCLEAN |
DLP |
2008: Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Leader of Government Business in the Senate
2008 - present: Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade |
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Irene SANDIFORD-GARNER |
DLP |
2008: Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Community, Development and Culture
2008 - 2010: Parliamentary Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office
2010 - 2013: Parliamentary Secretary of Health
2013 - Present: Minister of State Tourism and International Transport |
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| Key |
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Bajan Free Party |
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NDP = National Democratic Party |
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United Progressive Party |
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Barbados Integrity Movement |
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People's Democratic Congress |
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WPB = Workers Party of Barbados |
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Barbados
Labour Party |
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PEP = People's Empowerment Party |
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Independent Candidate |
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Democratic
Labour Party |
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PPA = People's Political Alliance |
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*incumbent |
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Kingdom Government of Barbados |
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Solutions Barbados |
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** Political Leader |
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| Sources |
| Barbados Electoral and Boundaries Commission |
| Bajan Free Party (2018). Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/Bajan-Free-Party-BFP-HonAlex-MitchellEl-1767331239973521/ |
| Barbados Integrity Movement (2018). Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/barbdaosintegritymovement/?ref=py_c |
| Barbados Labour Party. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.blp.org.bb/ |
| Coalition of United Party. (2018) Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/alexmitchell.el/ |
| Democratic Labour Party. (2018). Retrieved from http://dlpbarbados.org/site/ |
| Solutions Barbados. (2018). Retrieved from https://solutionsbarbados.com/ |
| United Progressive Party. (2018). Retrieved from https://uppbarbados.org/ |
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