Mrs. Sita Nagamootoo, the wife of Guyana’s newly elected Prime, Moses Nagamootoo, says that women must be given a greater role to play in the development of Guyana and she is convinced that they will get a better deal under APNU+AFU administration. “Education is her pet concern, having been a teacher for some 35 years, a headmistress and lecturer at the Cyril Potter’s College of Education for teachers.” This is according to a recent statement made by…
Politics
Dr. Faith Azelia Harding leaves behind a legacy of impressive political accomplishments and passionate advocacy. A former Minister and PNCR’s first female presidential candidate, Dr. Harding was one of Guyana’s leading political advocate for issues affecting women and children. Born on October 5, 1947 in Georgetown, Guyana to Egbert and Beryl Blackmore, she was the sixth child of a very closely knitted family which consist of three brothers and three sisters. Dr. Harding attended St….
Three women, Janet Jagan, Jane Phillips Gay and Jessica Burnham, were the first females elected as Members of British Guiana Parliament in May 1953 after the first universal adult suffrage elections were held in the same year. Former first lady Janet Jagan became the first female Deputy Speaker of the Legislature in 1953; the first female Prime Minister in March 1997 and the first female President of Guyana in December 1997. Jane Phillips-Gay was a…
Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett was born in the Amerindian Village of Santa Rosa, Guyana. She received her early education in Santa Rosa and then move to the capital Georgetown to attend a private school. Minister Rodrigues-Birkett then left Guyana for Saskatchewan, Canada, on scholarship, to pursue studies in Business Administration and Indian Studies. Following her return to Guyana in 1993, she read successfully for a degree in Social Work at the University of Guyana, while simultaneously managing…
Deputy Borough President Sandra Chapman has nearly three decades of experience as a manager, problem solver and advocate in the public sector with special emphasis on streamlining services between a busy city agency and its residents. As Marty’s chief advocate in constituent services, Chapman is uniquely qualified to assess our residents’ needs and to help them navigate the often complex workings of various city agencies, from housing issues to quality of life concerns and everything…
United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management, Catherine Pollard, was born in Georgetown, Guyana 1960. She attended Bishops High School from 1971 to 1978 and holds a Master’s Degree in Accounting from the University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica. Catherine was appointed to this top post by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in April 2008. The Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM) is responsible for implementing the vision of the Secretary-General for an integrated…
Born on November, 26 1930 in New Amsterdam, Berbice, Viola Victorine Burnham was the youngest of eight children of schoolmaster James Nathaniel Harper and his wife Mary (née Chin). Viola attended the All Saints Scots School from which she won a Government County Scholarship to the Berbice High School. After her father’s death the family decided to move to Georgetown where she entered Smith’s Church Congregational School. There she won a Government County Scholarship to …
Shirley Chisholm is the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Congress and the first to campaign for the Presidency. She was an outspoken advocate for women and minorities during the seven terms she served in the House. Her legacy of political and social activism laid the foundation for the rise of women and Blacks in American politics. Born Shirley Anita St. Hill on November 30, 1924, she was the oldest of four girls of…
Today we’re heading to London to meet the Baroness! Baroness Valerie Ann Amos was born on March 13, 1954 in Georgetown, Guyana but moved to London at age nine. She became the first black woman in a British Cabinet in 2003 when she was appointed Secretary of State for International Development and was also the first black Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council. She is formally known as The…