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Good practice Imported

Dominica's National Policy on Gender Equality

Dominica · Roseau · See the Dominica profile · See the Roseau profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 71% 48/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

In 2007 Dominica became the first English-speaking Caribbean country to approve a National Policy on Gender Equality, implemented ever since by its Bureau of Gender Affairs - though no independently verified outcome data yet tracks its impact on GBV or women's advancement.

Dominica's National Policy on Gender Equality

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Bureau of Gender Affairs, Government of Dominica
Period
2007-present
Keywords
gender mainstreaming, policy framework, gender-based violence, institution-building

Context

In 2007 the Cabinet of Dominica approved a National Policy and Action Plan for Gender Equity and Equality, drafted the previous year, making Dominica the first English-speaking Caribbean country to adopt a national gender-equality policy.

Objectives

To address discrimination against women across health, economic development, violence, education and decision-making.

Activities

Implementation sits with the Bureau of Gender Affairs (Ministry of Social Services, Community Development and Gender Affairs), whose institutional lineage runs from a Women's Desk (1980) to a Women's Bureau (1982) to today's Bureau of Gender Affairs (renamed 2009), headquartered in Roseau.

Conclusions

The policy and Bureau have persisted for nearly two decades, but no independently verified, quantified outcome data - for example on gender-based-violence rates or women's share of senior public office - could be confirmed; the practice's strongest evidence is institutional continuity and historical precedent rather than measured results.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Low (< €50k)
Time to results
Long (> 3 years)
Staffing & skills
Bureau of Gender Affairs, Ministry of Social Services, Community Development and Gender Affairs (Roseau)

Conditions for success

  • Sustained institutional continuity across name changes (Women's Desk 1980 -> Women's Bureau 1982 -> Bureau of Gender Affairs 2009)
  • Cabinet-level policy approval giving the framework formal government backing

Common failure modes

  • No independently verified, quantified outcome data (e.g. gender-based-violence rates, women's share of senior public office) has been confirmed to track the policy's impact after nearly two decades

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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