Barbara Evelyn Bailey OJ (born 14 March 1942) is an educator, writer and

gender studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field n ...

scholar from

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

. In addition to her education work, she has represented

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

at numerous conferences and assemblies regarding women's rights. In 2008, she was elected by the state parties as a member of the United Nations

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is an international treaty adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly. Described as an international bill of rights for women, it was instituted ...

Career

Bailey attended the

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 18 English-speaking countries and territories in t ...

(UWI), where she received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in

microbiology Microbiology () is the branches of science, scientific study of microorganisms, those being of unicellular organism, unicellular (single-celled), multicellular organism, multicellular (consisting of complex cells), or non-cellular life, acellula ...

in 1974, a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

in 1983, and a Ph.D. in education in 1987. She worked as a lecturer at UWI from 1980 to 1996. From 1995 to 2010, she served as regional coordinator of the university's Institute for Gender and Development Studies. In 2003, Bailey was named Professor of Gender & Education at UWI. Bailey became inadvertently involved in the international

women's movement The feminist movement, also known as the women's movement, refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for radical and liberal reforms on women's issues created by inequality between men and women. Such issues are women's ...

in the 1980s, when she was invited to head the National Executive of Methodist Women in Jamaica. Through her work there and as founding member and later president of the Women in the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas, she became interested in ways to empower women through social outreach programs. In 1985, Bailey was part of the Jamaican delegation to the Third World Conference on Women in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. She was also part of her country's delegation in 1995 for the

Fourth World Conference on Women The Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace was the name given for a conference convened by the United Nations during 4–15 September 1995 in Beijing, China. At this conference, governments from around the ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. In 2000, she participated in the follow-up meeting, "Beijing + 5," which was held at the UN General Assembly in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Bailey served as chair of the National Gender Advisory Committee for Jamaica, working to develop policy that would promote gender equality and social justice within the country. The states parties elected Bailey as a member of the

CEDAW Committee The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is an international treaty adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly. Described as an international bill of rights for women, it was instituted ...

to serve from January 2009 through the end of 2012. This committee monitors countries' compliance with the CEDAW Convention, which provides a series of articles aiming to end discrimination against women. In a 2015 interview, Bailey recognized the complexities of reaching women's equality, naming "entrenched patriarchal ideology" as the primary factor in structural and ideological inequality.

Recognition

In 2008, Bailey was awarded the CARICOM (Caribbean Community) Triennial Award for Women.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Barbara Evelyn 1942 births Living people Barbara Evelyn Bailey 20th-century Jamaican women writers 20th-century Jamaican writers 21st-century Jamaican women writers 21st-century Jamaican writers Jamaican academics Jamaican educators Jamaican feminists Jamaican officials of the United Nations Jamaican women academics Members of the Order of Jamaica United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women members