PM Kamla tells Latin American women to assert themselves

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on Thursday told a gathering of Latin American women that the issues of Women and Girls have been in the public domain for far too long and now is the time for action. 

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Rio de Janeiro she said women have to assert themselves and look forward with greater confidence. 

And she challenged the corporate world and universities to adapt their policies to suit the special needs of women, stating that women must not face discrimination because they are mothers.

The prime minister opened the conversation by citing the Chinese philosophy of both genders together holding up the sky.

Click here to listen to the PM's remarks.

Persad-Bissessar also spoke about a report that shows that the more women there are in any Parliament, the less room there is for corruption.

She acknowledged that only three of the 54 leaders in the Commonwealth she now heads are women and there are only 19 female Government Heads in the entire world.

The Prime Minister said this must be addressed and linked the education of girls and women to the future sustainability of any economy, and also to the quality of leadership in government.