The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat convened the Forty-Sixth Meeting of COHSOD (Council for Human and Social Development) on Gender, in Bridgetown Barbados from 20 to 21 November 2023.

The Meeting launched the CARICOM Gender Equality Strategy “Stepping it up: A Strategy To Achieve Gender Equality In The Caribbean Community”. The strategy aimed to coordinate and accelerate efforts to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women, and discuss its implementation and monitoring. The Meeting also addressed the outcomes and achievements of the Caribbean Regional Spotlight Initiative; Member States reporting to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW); the Economic Cost of Violence among other priority issues on the regional agenda.