Minister Johnson: Women Must Be Given More Than the Burden of Surviving Crises

Minister of State in the Ministry of Social and Urban Transformation, Hon. Kiz Johnson, has challenged governments to move beyond praising women’s resilience and address the conditions that leave them exposed to repeated crises.

Speaking at the Commonwealth People’s Forum session, From Crisis to Transformation: Women Leading Justice and Resilience, on November 4 in Antigua and Barbuda, Johnson called for better coordination of public services and greater influence for women in decisions affecting their lives.

“But should our ambition simply be for women to become better and better at surviving one crisis after another?” she asked. “Surely, we must also change the conditions that leave them so exposed in the first place.”

Convened by Caribbean Women in Leadership (CIWiL) as part of CHOGM 2026, the session connected perspectives from the Caribbean, Africa and the Pacific on the overlapping effects of climate change, economic insecurity, care responsibilities and gaps in public services.

Johnson illustrated those connections through the experiences of a Caribbean mother recovering from a hurricane, an African woman confronting prolonged drought and a Pacific island woman facing rising seas.

While their circumstances differ, she said, their challenges overlap, with one hardship making another more difficult to manage.
“No one lives a single-issue life. Yet our institutions sometimes operate as though people do,” Johnson said.

Drawing on her responsibilities for gender affairs, youth development, community development and social welfare, she argued that government services must better reflect how families actually experience hardship.

A woman’s ability to earn an income may depend on her care responsibilities, while a family’s financial situation can determine children’s opportunities. Access to reliable services and social protection, she said, can make a critical difference when hardship strikes.

“The people we serve shouldn’t have to struggle to find support simply because their needs fall across several different areas,” she said.
Johnson also stressed that representation must translate into meaningful authority over policy and public spending.

“Women must also have real influence over the priorities we set, the policies we pursue and the resources we allocate,” she said, adding that this must include women leading change within their communities.

She welcomed civil society recommendations calling for sustained support for women’s organisations and meaningful participation in climate and development decisions. Community organisations, she said, understand needs that may not always be visible within government and should help shape responses from the beginning.

The minister also highlighted the importance of international cooperation and adequate financing for developing countries operating under significant financial constraints.

The session’s programme featured perspectives from Integrated Health Outreach, the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute, Nawi Afrifem Collective and the Building Safety and Resilience in the Pacific programme in Tuvalu, with Ambassador Rosalyn Hazelle serving as moderator.

Johnson urged participants to judge the value of the gathering by its impact beyond the conference.

“Ultimately, what matters is not only what we agree on here, but what changes for the people and communities we serve.”