One step forward, two backwards
Dear Editor,
Our collective moral psyche was uplifted recently when news came swift and fast that Jamaica was ranked at the very top of the pile, not in athletics or any sporting disciplines, but actually in a study conducted by the International Labour Organization which deduced that Jamaica has the highest proportion of managers globally.
The official numbers of this study, when examined, painted a picture of a country of 2.7-million inhabitants wherein some 59.3 per cent of management and middle management positions are occupied by members of the fairer sex.
This finding is nothing short of remarkable, not because it catapults our country to number one, but because it demonstrates that equality is seeping into our society.
Sadly, however, the almost simultaneous slaughtering of a number of young teenage and adolescent females has ensured that the light of the moment is darkened. This recent spate of filicide, particularly in western and northern parishes, has served to once more return to the front burner the issue of how we treat our children and, in particular, our young girls.
As a society, it is the responsibility of every adult, male and female, to look out for the young and vulnerable, and to protect them from uncaring elements which may seek to rob them of their innocence, youth, promise, and ultimately life. These latest acts of cruelty only add to the over 1,600 children who have been murdered over the last decade in this the land with the most women managers.
Noel Matherson
noelmatherson@gmail.com