This report presents a gendered analysis of the findings of the first Core Welfare Indicators Questionnaire (CWIQ) survey of Grenada, undertaken in 2005. The 2005 Basic Report highlighted social and economic conditions in Grenada, revealing many cases where household conditions had worsened as a result of the devastation of Grenada by Hurricane Ivan in 2004.

In February 2005, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), in collaboration with the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), conducted a gender impact assessment of Ivan. Supported by that assessment, Grenada: A Gender Impact Assessment of Hurricane Ivan – Making theInvisible Visible, this report opens a discussion on the experiences of men and women in post-Ivan Grenada and highlights their different levels of vulnerability during and after disasters. The findings have critical implications for Grenada’s long-term, sustained development, including its response to natural and other disasters, and the actions to be taken to ensure women and men benefit equally in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

With nearly half of all households in Grenada headed by women, and with more women than men in the poorer quintiles in society, this gender analysis is a first step to a wider and deeper understanding of gender inequality in Grenada. This report can be used as a starting point for appreciating some of the specific obstacles that make it more difficult for women to improve the quality of life for themselves and their families and the impact this has on the country as a whole. But this analysis also shows that the way in which roles, rights and responsibilities are determined by gender relations also prevents men from reaching their full potential.

A gender analysis is a departure from the usual CWIQ survey approach, and reflects a commitment that the initial survey data should provide the information necessary for this kind of interpretation. It is anticipated that this examination of a specific gender concerns in the CWIQ, and other, surveys will become “business as usual”.  The gender analysis effort was made possible through the partnership of UNDP with the UNIFEM Caribbean office. The overall CWIQ report was a partnership of the Government of Grenada in collaboration with UNDP Barbados and the OECS, The Caribbean Development Bank and UNIFEM, with technical input from UNECLAC sub-regional office for the Caribbean. The overall approach in the undertaking of the CWIQ was guided by the Support to Poverty Assessment and Reduction in the Caribbean (SPARC) initiative.

Poverty Reduction Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Organization of Eastern Carribean States