In commemoration of International Women’s Day, Barbados TODAY highlighted women working in various fields – from health to telecoms, from development to politics – as they share their sources of success and triumph over challenges they have encountered. Below is an interview with Professor Cynthia Barrow-Giles, Constitutional Scholar, about her journey.
We have to look at the extent to which the institutional framework encourages women to participate in elections. Secondly, we also have to look at the extent to which, beyond the institutional framework, the formal and informal and political culture of the political parties who are the primary gatekeepers.
When you think of the phrase “women in politics” in an academic context, Professor Cynthia Barrow-Giles is likely one of the first names that comes to mind.
She formerly held the position of Head of the Department of Government, Sociology, and Social Work at the University of the West Indies (UWI) – Cave Hill and currently serves as a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Constitutional Studies Program at the University of Texas, Austin, from 2022 until present.
From 2005 to 2011, she was a member of the Saint Lucia Constitution Reform Commission and has provided advisory support to constitutional reform commissions and committees across the English-speaking Caribbean. She is currently a member of the International Advisory Board for the Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs and is a commissioner on the Parliamentary Constitutional Review Committee.
In a candid interview with Barbados TODAY, Professor Barrow-Giles reflected on her academic journey, from entering UWI Cave Hill in 1989.
“. . . For somebody working in academia, it’s almost a natural progression that once you enter academia, you would like to get to the top. Not many of us do. Importantly, I think in the last 10 years or so, many more of us are getting there. I may be one of a very few female professors and the first at Cave Hill Campus. I am also one of very few people in the entire university system who have obtained a professorship without having a PhD,” she explained.
Professor Barrow-Giles, who was also deputy dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences as a junior academic from 1994 to 1996, spoke about the challenges women in academia face, particularly the need to balance family obligations, teaching, and research.
“I know it is a little more difficult for women, particularly women who are married and women who have children, because they have to balance. Achieving a balance is not always easy. In academia, whether male or female, you have to be constantly publishing, and that can be a burden. If you take your teaching responsibilities seriously, you spend a lot of time finding ways to engage students in topics they may not be naturally interested in. Balancing all of this is a challenge,” she stated frankly.
Championing Women in Academia and Changing the Landscape of Caribbean Political Studies
Despite these challenges, she praised the UWI for implementing study and travel grants and providing access to workshops. As she prepares for retirement after 36 years of service, she takes pride in seeing more women in leadership positions at the university.
A widely published academic, her first book, Introduction to Caribbean Politics: Texts and Readings, published by Ian Randle Publishers, explores key issues in Caribbean politics, from colonisation and independence to electoral politics and governance systems.
“There were articles before, which are important, but by the way, in academia, apparently articles are more important than books, but in disciplines such as political science, we thrive on books,” she noted.
Barrow-Giles, who again served as deputy dean responsible for graduate studies as a senior academic in post-2010 under the deanship of the now principal of the UWI Five Islands Campus, Professor Justin Robinson, noted that she has observed a decline in students enrolling in political science at Cave Hill. She noted that class sizes are dropping and attributes this decline to shifting interests to International Relations (a sub-discipline of political science), which has seen a growth spurt.
However, she remains optimistic, particularly about the increasing number of women entering the field, highlighting the work of the Head of Department, Dr. Kristina Hinds-Harrison, alongside Alicia Nicholls and Dr. Sandra Ochieng’-Springer.
She is particularly proud of her many students who have excelled in various fields locally, regionally and internationally, some of whom are current professors at the UWI and elsewhere. Among these are Professor Don Marshall, Professor Tennyson Joseph, Dr. Ronnie Yearwood, Mr. Peter Wickham “who is doing good work with political parties and elections across the Caribbean”, Ernest Hilaire, member of parliament and Minister of Government of Saint Lucia, Rochelle Forde of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (the current speaker of St Lucia parliament), Rhyesa Joseph of Saint Lucia (former executive director of the Folk Research Center), April Louis and many others who have excelled in various capacities, several of whom are embedded in international organisations, the teaching profession and the public service.
“I am also very proud of my former student Charles Griffith, who proved me wrong when he won the elections in 2018 representing the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) in the constituency of St. John,” she added, noting that the others are too numerous to name.
On the issue of women in politics, Barrow-Giles emphasises that representation goes beyond the right to vote—it is about the right to stand for elections and the institutional support to make that possible.
“We have to look at the extent to which the institutional framework encourages women to participate in elections. Secondly, we have to look at the extent to which, beyond the institutional framework, the formal, informal and political culture of the political parties, who are the primary gatekeepers. And we do know that across the Caribbean, there seems to be a reluctance of those gatekeepers who are typically male to select women,” she said.
While acknowledging that the Caribbean has made progress compared to other regions, she stresses that there is still much work to be done.
“I think it has been recognised that if you want to make a substantial difference in terms of policies, et cetera, that you need to have at least minimally 30% representation [of women],” she stated, highlighting Guyana and Grenada as leading the way in women’s political representation, while Trinidad has made strides in appointing women to key positions.
As she prepares to conclude her distinguished career, Barrow-Giles remains hopeful about the future of political science and women’s leadership in the Caribbean. She believes that by addressing structural barriers and fostering mentorship, the next generation of scholars and politicians can continue to build on the progress made. Through her contributions as a scholar, mentor, and advocate, she has paved the way for the next generation of political thinkers, ensuring that the discourse on governance and representation continues to evolve.
This article appeared in the March 8 International Women’s Day Magazine by Barbados Today. View the magazine here.
The post Professor Cynthia Barrow-Giles: Shaping Constitutional Studies and Gender Policy appeared first on Barbados Today.
