SKNNS salutes The ‘Fab’ 5 on IWD 2023 – Dr. Janice Daniel-Hodge…The Businesswoman, Environmentalist, Politician
DR. JANICE DANIEL-HODGE IS A WELL-ESTABLISHED BUSINESSWOMAN, environmental consultant, and most recently, fearless political leader.
As a woman, and a Caribbean woman at that, the game of lifeis heavily stacked against her, and by extension, all the females looking up to her. As a group, women are under-represented in almost every sector of the economy.
That is if you ignore the unpaid wage sector. For example, in the technical field, women hold only 26.7 percent of tech-related jobs. Tech firms with more than 10,000 employees report women’s representation at 26.2 percent. Since the onslaught of the deadly Corona Virus global pandemic, the percentage of women in all tech-related careers dippedinthe last two years.
When it comes to the issue of pay, statistics show women in software engineering earn less than their male counterparts: they make 0.93 cents for every dollar that men in the field make.
There have been some movements away from the historic lack of parity dogging women, for example in the field of learning. While equal access has been achieved in some areas, the percentage of women pursuing STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects in higher education is on the decline.
Only 18 percent of graduates with computer science degrees are women.
These are some of the challenges Dr Daniel-Hodge has to confront. And solve. In the Caribbean dominated by male politicians and decision-makers.
The Nevisian academic she earned a bachelor’s degree in Biology from St. Francis College in New York, a master’s degree in Microbiology from Alabama A&M University, and a Doctoral Degree in Creative Leadership for Innovation and Change from the University of the Virgin Islands.
Her Doctoral thesis is entitled ‘Establishing a link between creativity and environmental stewardship in Small Island Developing States’ (SIDS).
Dr. Daniel-Hodge lectured for a short while at Alabama A&M University, and later at the University of the Virgin Islands. Subsequently, she has been extensively involved with natural resource management and policy development. She also served as Coordinator and Director at the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources for over a decade.
The Nevis Reformation Party (NRP) leader is the founder and Managing Director of the consulting firm, Caribbean Development and Environmental Consultants, Inc. (CADENCO). Since its establishment in 2003, CADENCO has prepared numerous Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports, coordinated numerous environmental projects, and provided consulting services to a myriad of local and international organisations including The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Dr. Daniel-Hodge played a key role in the establishment of St. Christopher and Nevis Conservation Foundation, and in the establishment of the first Marine Managed Area for St. Kitts and Nevis.
She is the recipient of numerous awards including a USA Presidential Award for her role in establishing the first Territorial Marine Park in the U.S. Virgin Islands. She is also the recipient of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Walter B. Jones Memorial Award for Excellence in Local Government.
In addition to directing the operations of CADENCO, Dr. Daniel-Hodge served as Secretary to the Newcastle Bay Foundation, Inc., a not-for-profit organisation that she cofounded, to promote community involvement in natural resource management initiatives.
She also served as Director at the Bank of Nevis International Ltd., and Director and Chairperson of the Bank of Nevis Ltd.
When she was elected political leader of the Nevis Reformation Party (NRP) in 2020 she became the first woman to lead a major political party in the twin-island CARICOM Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis. Two years later, she contested the Nevis Island local elections and won her seat to become an elected Member of Parliament (MP) in the Nevis Island Assembly (NIA).
She understands the ‘ruff-and-tumble’ nature of contested politics but plans to stay above the name-calling fray.
“There are some people who will want to launch personal attacks, but I can come here and speak to you confidently and effectively on plans and visions that I have in moving Nevis forward. I do not have to dig up lies; I do not have to come and give misinformation, because I can tell you that I would have lived and worked in the US Virgin Islands and when all was said and done, the person who was found to be most trustworthy, and the person who was found capable of implementing and running the programmes is yours truly,” she said matter-of-factly during the hustings leading to the Nevis December 2022 polls.
Dr. Janice Daniel-Hodge is the mother of two adult sons and a granddaughter.
