The Council of Voluntary Social Services (CVSS) has been unintentionally training more women than men in the last year, even as it acknowleges that both genders need equal attention.
This point was made during the 84-year-old institution’s annual general meeting on Thursday at its offices located along Camp Road in St Andrew.
One member offered that, “in particular cultures, it’s more the men that we need to protect and encourage and empower. (But) what you’ll find in civil society, is that there are mostly women operating in the space ... A lot of the trainers, the administrators, we’re all females. We tend to dominate Jamaican economy and culture, and there’s now way around that. It is what it is.”
Another senior CVSS member who requested anonymity, noted, however, that while the group might be primarily women-led, there is no deliberate bias as efforts have been made to create a balance in the support to both genders.
“We have nurses, teachers and other working groups that are heavily female-based who seek training, and then the non-government organisation sector has an environment ... women who were not necessarily employed, they do their volunteer work. So over time, volunteer work [and] social support work became a very female dominant space, and a lot of the people in the environment are females who want training.”
“They [women] come to us for training, because they want upskilling. A lot of our uniformed groups tend to be more male dominated, but I think it’s a fair assumption to say it’s more women than men,” she said.
She referenced the situation in the agricultural sector, where men who are already farmers or budding farmers do not seek training, noting that it is the women in farming who are more likely to show up for training.
Meanwhile CVSS chair, Kim Mair, described 2023 as a year of significant milestones for the organisation.
“Our network development efforts have been instrumental in engaging collaboration among stakeholders, ensuring a stronger and more unified collective mission,” Mair said.
“The [Advocate, Innovate and Mobilise] AIM project launched in October last year, stands as a testament to our commitment to strengthening local CSOs capacities for policy dialogue and national development,” she said.
She said the group is also excited about the development of the National Volunteer Programme which aims to foster a vibrant volunteer ecosystem in Jamaica.
“This initiative will undoubtedly play a crucial role in nurturing a culture of volunteerism and civic engagement across the nation,” she said.
Mair said their financial help remains robust with the significant funding secured from various grants which ensure a stable and sustainable future for their initiatives.
CVSS is the umbrella organisation for volunteer groups in Jamaica and aims to foster the growth and empowerment of the private voluntary sector through capacity-building, networking and resource mobilisation. It is also a not-for-profit group.
With financial support from entities including the European Union (EU) and the Caribbean Policy Development Centre (CPDC), they have been offering impactful programmes that resonate deeply in their focus communities.
The organisation is currently inviting applications for a grant titled, ‘Promoting Gender Equality, Women and Youth Empowerment, and Inclusion, as well as Cultural Expression’. Interested persons may submit applications up to September 20.
This grant opportunity aligns with the EU’s partnership with Jamaica, which focuses on supporting the country’s goal of achieving an inclusive and resilient digital economy and society, improving resilience to natural hazards through better climate-change adaptation and mitigation, and addressing crime and violence while protecting vulnerable groups.
The CVSS has a history of collaborating with the EU to strengthen civil society organisations in Jamaica. In 2020, the group, in collaboration with the EU, hosted a series of workshops on grant proposal-writing to benefit 40 CSOs.
The workshops which saw over 250 participants benefitting, included sessions on monitoring, learning and evaluation, a youth sub-sector meeting under the topic, ‘Youth For Development Network’, a gender and community meeting, a communication workshop and a foundation sub-sector meeting in the last year.
The participants gained skills and knowledge to drive meaningful change in their communities.