Osbourne: Bahamas has long way to go on women in positions of power

Although The Bahamas was recently ranked 77 out of 162 countries on the United Nations Development Program’s (UNDP) Gender Inequality Index (GII), this country still “has a long way to go with respect to equity for women”, prominent businesswoman and accountant Darnell Osborne said.

Osborne, who is also the former chairperson of Bahamas Power and Light, called Bahamian society “very chauvinistic”, with the slightest differing of opinions from women turning into “lowball personal attacks… of the most sexist and misogynistic type”.

“At a former place of employment – although I was highly qualified – a board filled with old men thought it appropriate to cap my salary even though hiring a male with far less experience, hard skills, soft skills and capabilities and feeling justified in paying him more. Sometimes, their justifications seem to be the old fashioned and outdated thought process that you have a husband to take care of you, but the man, considered the breadwinner, deserves higher pay,” Osborne said while participating in a recent American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and Cayman Islands Institute of Professional Accountants (CIIPA) Annual Summit.

“My most recent experience in public life ended with very public attacks on my character,” she added.

Diversity and inclusion have become hot topics within the business and corporate world, as organizations seek broader representation in their companies. Osbourne said women want to be given an equal opportunity not simply because they are women, but because they have skills, knowledge and expertise to qualify for the job.

“Currently, I’m only sitting on my family-owned, privately held board. Ninety percent of our employees are women… In my previous phase of career building, as an employee in the local private sector, most board seats are held by old men – black and white – who are struggling with the demand to diversify the boards per the regulator,” she said.

“Bahamian companies reflect the larger problems in society with attitudes towards women. Unless it is mandated or they have affiliations abroad (international companies or signing on to certain conventions, etc.), they are quite happy to allow the status quo to remain in place. Change will come with great opposition and as it unfolds, the resistant ones will be kicking, maneuvering and screaming.”

In the UNDP’s GII, The Bahamas was given a value of 0.341, with the report pointing to 21.8 percent of parliamentary seats being held by women and 88 percent of adult women reaching at least a secondary level of education, compared to 91 percent of their male counterparts; and female participation in the labor market standing at 68.1 percent, compared to 81.6 for men.

The index further highlights that for every 100,000 live births, 70 women die from pregnancy-related causes. The adolescent birth rate is 30 births per 1,000 women of ages 15-19.

“The Bahamas has a long way to go with respect to equity for women. Several reports have ranked us very low, so there is still lots of work to be done. Bahamian women cannot pass on citizenship yet, as per Bahamian men. Similarly, a foreign man married to a Bahamian woman must relinquish his citizenship if he is to obtain Bahamian citizenship, however, it’s not the same for foreign women who marry Bahamian men. They are allowed to keep both citizenships.

“Marital rape is still on the books,” Osborne said.

“Women… hold only five seats in the House of Assembly out of 40 and one seat in Cabinet. Moreover, there is a sabotage mentality towards women who strive in politics and who lead boards. It is rare to have women chairpersons and rarer still to respect their professional opinions. The only women who seem to survive are the ones who adapt to the “corrupt” environments, self-preserve and look the other way or who rise to positions by other than professional means.”

She continued, “Bahamian women make 67 cents approximately to a dollar earned by men. Although not 100 percent in some First World countries, it is approximately 90 cents, for example in Canada, and its government recognizes it must address this, as it is so impactful on the GDP to not have women in the work force earning equal pay.”

Osborne encouraged professional women to be authentic, speak the truth without fear or favor or recrimination, develop grit and to be persistent in upholding high ethical and moral standards.

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