–To ensure safer, more supportive workplaces
-by Jordan Alkins
The Government continues to invest in strengthening the Public Service by taking a step towards fairer, safer and more supportive workplaces.
Today, the Ministries of Public Service and Human Services launched the Gender Equality in the Workplace initiative and Protection from Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (PSEAH) Training for public sector workers.
For years, it’s been the conversation whispered in break rooms, too often dismissed as “just how things are.” Today was the first step to change that.
Participants, drawn from across the Public Service, covered it all – Gender and Development, Gender Mainstreaming, an introduction to Gender-Based Violence, Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment and how to spot it, prevent it, and report it.
The training targeted Permanent Secretaries, Deputy Permanent Secretaries, managers, programme heads and other employees.
Speaking at the launch, Public Service Minister Zulfikar Ali says digital upgrades are coming for appraisals and promotions – taking out supervisors and managers’ hands, with the aim of removing favoritism and fear.
“Because gender-based violence is not only physical violence. It’s about how you make that person feel at the end of the day whether you deliberately or intentionally wanted to do that, it doesn’t matter, it matters how that person perceived it,” the minister said.
Meanwhile, Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, flagged follow-up and effective open-door policy as ongoing challenges in the Public Service, and urged ministries to drop the culture of excuses when tackling these issues.
“I don’t know if I’m being too harsh, but I prefer to be plane spoken because if we don’t speak about these things, and we slide them under the carpet, they will never be solved,” she said.
The Seal and Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (PSEAH) Training mark a step closer to gender equality in the workplace, and a Public Service where workers can raise concerns without fear.