SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES – Globally, one in ten women live in extreme poverty, surviving on less than $2.15 per day, Minister of the Family and Gender Affairs, Persons with Disabilities, and Labour, Honourable Laverne Gibson‑Velox, told the launch of the Caribbean Women Entrepreneurs Generating Resilient and Inclusive Trade (GRIT) Project.
“Globally, 1 in 10 women live in extreme poverty, surviving on less than $2.15 per day, according to World Bank data,” she said, stressing that this stark reality highlights the urgency of empowering women through inclusive trade and economic systems.
Gibson‑Velox warned that women continue to face higher unemployment rates than men despite often achieving higher levels of education, and that crises such as COVID‑19, the La Soufrière Volcanic eruption, and Hurricane Beryl have disproportionately devastated women‑dominated sectors including agriculture, fisheries, handicrafts, food processing, and vending.
She noted that the accumulated impact of these shocks has exposed structural inequalities and strained the country’s economic stability, leaving many women entrepreneurs struggling with income loss, limited access to recovery financing, and inadequate social protection.
The Minister emphasized that closing the gender gap is not only a matter of equity but a prerequisite for sustainable economic growth. She pointed to the government’s PRYME Grant Program, where women account for 53% of approved beneficiaries, as evidence of national commitment to advancing women’s economic empowerment.
The GRIT Project, funded through a four‑year partnership with Global Affairs Canada, was described as arriving at a critical juncture to build resilience, expand access to markets, and ensure women are not left behind in national development. Gibson‑Velox urged stakeholders to embed women’s empowerment into long‑term planning, warning that without deliberate action, women will remain disproportionately vulnerable to future crises.