GEORGETOWN, Guyana — The Inter-American Commission of Women convenes a virtual forum on women's economic rights from 12 to 15 May 2026, but Guyanese women are already leading across every theme on the agenda, from chamber presidencies to ISO certification to maritime.
What is the CIM Regional Forum and why does it matter?
The Organization of American States' Inter-American Commission of Women is hosting the Regional Forum "Priorities for an Agenda on Women's Economic Rights" ahead of its 40th Delegates' Assembly, where ministers from across the Americas will meet in Washington on 27 to 29 May to set regional policy guidelines. The forum covers four themes across four days: decent work and labour inclusion, entrepreneurship and access to financing, the care economy, and digital inclusion and technological transformation.
Recommendations from the forum will be presented directly to ministers and senior officials. For Caribbean women running businesses, the question is whether the resulting agenda reflects what is already happening on the ground or remains a set of aspirations disconnected from the economies where women are already operating.
How does Guyana fit into this picture?
Guyana offers a case study in women's economic leadership that tracks each of the forum's four pillars.
Bhabita Albert was re-elected unopposed as president of the Region Three Chamber of Commerce and Industry on 30 April 2026, making her the second woman leading a regional chamber in Guyana during the largest infrastructure cycle in the country's history. The Wales Gas-to-Energy project, a US$2 billion undertaking under construction within her region, and the 1,400-acre Wales Development Zone give her Chamber direct standing in decisions shaping Guyana's industrial future.
The gap between running a business and accessing international supply chains is exactly what Candelle Bostwick, former Executive Director of the Guyana National Bureau of Standards, now runs CKB Enterprise Guyana, delivering ISO 9001 and ISO 22000 implementation training to agro-processors across the region. Her work addresses a specific barrier the forum's entrepreneurship day is designed to discuss: the gap between running a business and accessing the international supply chains that make it viable.
On decent work, the Women in Maritime Association Caribbean Guyana Chapter hosts its 2nd Annual Gala on 18 May 2026 with the First Lady delivering remarks and the Chief Executive Officer of DP World Suriname as keynote speaker. Women represent just 1% of the world's seafarers, and the chapter is working to change that ratio in a country where the maritime sector is expanding rapidly alongside the offshore oil industry.
When international executives began arriving in Georgetown faster than the city could support them, Rashawna Alleyne founded Lifestyle Concierge Services Guyana, Georgetown's first dedicated corporate and personal concierge firm, filling a gap created by the influx of international executives into a city that had no formal infrastructure to support them.
What should the forum take from Guyana's example?
These women did not wait for a regional framework. They identified market gaps in a fast-moving economy and built businesses to fill them. The receipts are published, the chambers are led, and the standards are being set. The CIM forum's value in May 2026 depends on whether its recommendations account for economies where women are already leading, not only economies where they are still seeking entry.
The forum is virtual and open to organisations throughout the region, with simultaneous interpretation in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Author: LCN Newsroom