Sheryl Lee Ralph for PNP Women’s Movement conference Sunday

Sheryl Lee Ralph will be the keynote speaker at the People's National Party (PNP) Women's Movement 50th anniversary conference this Sunday.

Ralph, an acclaimed American actress, was last year honoured with the Order of Jamaica for her contribution to the international film industry. She is also the niece of former PNP President and Prime Minister of Jamaica P.J. Patterson.

"We're celebrating 50 years of advocacy, empowerment and sisterhood and could think of no better way to mark this milestone than with the Honourable Sheryl Lee Ralph as our keynotespeaker," shared Women's Movement President Patricia Duncan Sutherland.

The conference will be held at the Cedar Grove Academy in Portmore, St Catherine. Duncan Sutherland is expecting Ralph to deliver an address that will "inspire people into action, as we need to pull all our forces together to transform Jamaica".

Referencing a recent United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report which said that gender biases across the globe remain entrenched over the last decade, Duncan Sutherland said Ralph's presence at its conference will help to inspire Jamaicans to continue the fight in dismantling the hurdles that stand in the way of gender equity.

"As we exit what the UNDP describes as a decade of stagnation, citing no real improvement in reducing harmful biases against women, it is clear to us as a movement that time has come for a more robust commitment to sisterhood and partnership, if we are to make progress and create a more equal and just society for women," Duncan Sutherland said.

Globally, women still encounter hurdles to fully participating in social and political life. According to the UNDP, 50 per cent of people worldwide still see men as better political leaders, 40 per cent see men as better business executives, and 25 per cent believe it is acceptable for a man to beat his wife.

Duncan Sutherland said that the PNP is likely to benefit from having Ralph, a fierce advocate for women's rights, speak at this Sunday's conference.

"As we step into elections, based on advocacy and change and transformation required for Jamaica, she embodies a person who has broken barriers and can pull together all of Jamaica, because she is not politically aligned, but [is] somebody who stands with all of Jamaica," Duncan Sutherland said.