Irene Sandiford-Garner (born 4 August 1961) is a Barbadian politician, journalist, businesswoman and activist, who is a member of the Democratic Labour Party and national delegate to the

Inter-American Commission of Women The Inter-American Commission of Women ( es, Comisión Interamericana de Mujeres, pt, Comissão Interamericana de Mulheres, french: Commission interaméricaine des femmes), abbreviated CIM, is an organization that falls within the Organization of ...

Early life and education

Sandiford-Garner was born in the United Kingdom and moved to Barbados at the age of eight. She grew up in Saint Andrew Parish, and received her education at St. Andrew's Girls' Primary School, Queen's College, Barbados Community College and 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 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...

at Cave Hill Campus. She also received a scholarship by an earlier employer, the Nation Publishing Company, to study in the US at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.

Career

Sandiford-Garner has been cited as the first female Barbadian journalist to land on

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

after US intervention in 1983. Between 1995 and 2006 Sandiford-Garner served as a marketing manager for Barbados's largest credit union, in which she was responsible for launching them in the US, a year after she became employed with them. After a career in journalism and marketing, Sandiford-Garner joined the Democratic Labour Party . Since February 2008 she has been a senator and Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Culture and Community Development, and since August 2008, she has been a national delegate to the

. She has also been involved in the 25th Regional Women of the Church of God Symposium, various

UNIFEM The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM, french: Fonds de développement des Nations unies pour la femme, ) was established in December 1976 originally as the Voluntary Fund for the United Nations Decade for Women in the Internation ...

workshops across the Caribbean, and was a featured speaker for the 2009

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...

symposium, held by the National Organization for Women (NOW).

Personal life

Sandiford-Garner is married to Granville Garner and has two sons, Fidel and Malcolm. The couple own a laundry and an entertainment management firm.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandiford-Garner, Irene Place of birth missing (living people) 1961 births Living people 20th-century Barbadian women politicians 20th-century Barbadian women writers 20th-century businesswomen 20th-century women journalists 21st-century Barbadian women politicians 21st-century Barbadian women writers 21st-century businesswomen 21st-century women journalists Barbadian businesspeople Barbadian women journalists People from Saint Andrew, Barbados Queen's College (Barbados) alumni University of the West Indies alumni Virginia Commonwealth University alumni Women government ministers of Barbados