Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago, an island nation in the Caribbean Sea, is among the most prosperous Caribbean countries with a per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of $23,300 in 2009. The largest ethnic groups in Trinidad's population of about 1.2 million are South Asian Indians (40 percent) and Africans (37.5 percent), while the principal religious groups are Roman Catholic (26 percent) and Hindu (22.5 percent). The World Economic Forum rates Trinidad and Tobago as one of the most equal countries in the world with regard to gender. On a scale from 0 (inequality) to 1 (percent equality), overall Trinidad's score was 0.73 and ranks 19th out of 134 countries. On education, Trinidad scored 0.99 (58th), on health and survival 0.98 (1st), on economic participation and opportunity 0.59 (44th), and on political empowerment 0.17 (27).

Literacy is almost universal (98 percent for women), education is free through the tertiary level, and more than 50 percent of tertiary students are female, although women constitute only one-third of the professors at that level (versus a majority of teachers at the primary and secondary levels). Sixty percent of women are in the labor force, and women make up over 50 percent of the professional and technical [Page 1475]workers. However, women earn only about 67 percent of what men do for comparable work. Women hold 27 percent of the seats in Parliament and hold 36 percent of the ministerial positions. Notable women in Trinidad's politics include Karen Nunez-Tesheira (Minister of Finance), Hazel Manning (Minister of Local Government), Esther Le Gendre (Minister of Education), and Christine Kangaloo (Ministry of Science, Technology, and Tertiary Education).

Women are entitled to 13 weeks of maternity leave at 100 percent of wages for the first month and 50 percent thereafter. All births are attended by trained personnel, and prenatal care is nearly universal. The infant mortality rate is 33 per 1,000 live births, and the maternal mortality ratio is 45 per 100,000 live births. Save the Children rates Trinidad in the midrange of Tier II or less developed countries on factors relating to maternal and child health and welfare: 33rd out of 75 countries on its Mothers’ Index, 38th on its Women's Index, and 37th on its Children's Index.