Recognising the critical need for a collaborative platform to advance gender equality in the region, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has launched the Gender Equality Knowledge Exchange Lab (GEKEL) in partnership with the UN Women Multi-Country Office - Caribbean. The Lab is designed to foster collaboration and knowledge-sharing on gender equality among partners in the Bank’s client countries, including national gender machineries, governmental and non-governmental organisations, civil society, the private sector, academia, and youth organisations.

This initiative is a key component of CDB’s broader commitment to promoting capacity-building, technical assistance, and financing across the Caribbean to achieve gender equality and enhance sustainable development. The Lab is rooted in CDB’s 2019 Gender Equality Policy and Operational Strategy, serving as a crucial platform for bringing together diverse stakeholders to address challenges and develop solutions to promote gender equality.

A central feature of the Lab is its quarterly online peer-to-peer knowledge exchange sessions, facilitated by CDB in collaboration with UN Women Caribbean, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women. These two-and-a-half-hour sessions provide a platform for stakeholders to discuss specific topics across various sectors and explore innovative solutions. Participants can also request customised training during these sessions.

The Gender Equality Knowledge Exchange Lab was piloted on 18 September 2023, following the flagship Gender Seminar at CDB’s 53rd Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors in Saint Lucia. The pilot session attracted over 50 participants from 19 Caribbean countries and focused on implementing national gender focal point systems, showcasing regional and global best practices. The positive response from participants, who expressed strong interest in continued training through a coordinated network on gender equality themes, led to the formal establishment of the Lab.

On 24 July 2024, in conjunction with GEKEL’s official launch, CDB and the UN Women Multi-Country Office - Caribbean held a second training session on Gender Mainstreaming in Trade Policy. Facilitated by the International Trade Centre (ITC), the training brought together 99 trade officials, policymakers, and representatives of national gender machineries from across the region. The session focused on the policy environment for women in business and trade, as well as strategies and options for integrating gender considerations into trade and trade-related policies.

During the training, CDB’s Vice President of Operations (Ag.), Mrs Therese Turner-Jones, reaffirmed the Bank’s commitment to empowering women and promoting gender equality in the region, stating: “By bringing together key stakeholders, we can identify solutions to the challenges hindering gender equality in trade and develop policies that promote inclusive and equitable growth.”

UN Women Caribbean Representative, Ms Tonni Brodber, emphasised the importance of inclusive policies, stating: “This is not just about women, it is about understanding where the women and men are in trade and how best we can understand the trade policies and develop policies and practices that can serve women and men, highlight their successes and importantly not block their opportunities.”

“Public procurement accounts for 12% of the Caribbean’s GDP, but less than 5% of public tenders go to women-owned businesses. Helping women become more competitive in trade and in public procurement is a big part of what we do at ITC and is the reason why we partnered with UN Women to launch the Global Campaign on Gender-Responsive Public Procurement. I call on Caribbean countries to join our campaign to leverage sourcing as a driver of gender equality,” said Ms Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director of ITC, during her opening remarks at the webinar.

To date, the Gender Equality Knowledge Exchange Lab has trained 150 individuals, underscoring CDB’s ongoing efforts to promote gender-inclusive and sustainable development in the Caribbean.