National Policy on Gender and Development of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

The National Policy on Gender and Development is a national policy with a multi-sectoral approach. The overall goal of this National Policy is to ensure the achievement of full equality between men and women, social justice and effective and sustainable socio-economic development in Trinidad and Tobago. The objectives of this Policy are: (I) improve the quality of life of women and men and girls and boys at all levels of society, (II) strengthen the links between gender equality and sustainable development goals in national development, and (III) promote gender mainstreaming in all Government sectors and within civil society.
Gender equality will be integrated into food security policies to provide men’s and women’s access to sufficient, safe and nutritionally adequate food. In order to ensure food self-sufficiency, equitable access by women and men to the inputs for agricultural production will be ensured.
Gender will be included as a cross-cutting theme in all sectors to integrate the needs and interests of women and men, and girls and boys into relevant policies, strategies and administrative and financial activities within the sectors. Institutional capacity building will be enhanced to eliminate all forms of gender discrimination and respond to harmful gender disparities, and ensure equality and human dignity consistent with the intention of the Constitution and international human rights obligations. Gender and development measures will be incorporated into all policies, programmes and projects within Government. Legislative framework will be developed to promote the equitable advancement of men and women and boys and girls. A gender management system will be developed to facilitate gender mainstreaming. The networking with key stakeholders including local, national, regional and international agencies will be strengthened to advance gender equality initiatives. The collaboration with community-based organizations and relevant stakeholders will be strengthened to reach vulnerable women and men within communities. In addition to that, all stakeholders in the public and private sectors and civil society will be equipped with the information and skills required to facilitate the empowerment of all men and women, boys and girls in the society. The equitable participation of men and women in political, economic, social, cultural and family life will be ensured. Measures will be taken to prevent the inequality between men and women in the sharing of power and decision-making at all levels, including national and local governance, the public and private sectors, and the community. Public awareness will be raised to promote gender equality at all levels though public education programmes, media and information dissemination. Gender equity and social justice criteria will be integrated into macroeconomic policy development and implementation, as well as trade negotiations and bilateral, multilateral and technical cooperation agreements, to promote the equitable sustainable socio-economic development of men and women. Gender-responsive budgeting measures will be implemented at the national, sectoral, regional and local levels. Data collection will be developed for gender analysis and planning. In order to foster the equitable participation of men and women in income generation and sustainable livelihood strategies, an enabling environment will be created for women’s and men’s equitable access to develop and grow small and micro-enterprises. Gender audits will be conducted to ensure compliance with equal employment opportunities for men and women at all levels. The monitoring and evaluation mechanisms of existing poverty alleviation initiatives will be established to ensure gender equity in the distribution of resources to all vulnerable groups. The health status of men and women will be improved by meeting their differentiated needs related to diet, nutrition, physical activity, and the incidence of communicable and non-communicable diseases.
Gender mainstreaming will be integrated into climate change, environmental protection, and sustainable use and conservation of natural resources. The role of women and girls and men and boys will be taken into account in risk management and mitigation activities aimed at planning, responding to and the recovery from climate change and natural disasters.
The Gender Affairs Division shall be responsible for facilitating the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the National Policy on Gender and Development; with support from the Office of the Prime Minister’s Monitoring and Evaluation Unit. The Division shall also monitor gender mainstreaming in all sectors informed by the Policy, assist in the development of gender sensitive indicators and other performance management tools and methodologies.