July 13, 2002 – The Commission on the Status of Women is back on the active burner, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull said in a news release issued Friday. He said that "quite a number" of women in the last few months have shared gender-related concerns with him, and "I have decided that reactivating the commission is one way for women to get their message across collectively."
Sonia Boyce, who works in the St. Croix Administrator's Office, said the governor has some nominees in mind for the commission, but she was not at liberty to disclose them. "I won't pre-empt the governor," she said.
By law, five members of the commission must live on St. Thomas, five must live on St. Croix and one must live on St. John. Boyce said she expects the nominees will be announced soon.
The commission, which has been on the books for decades, was reactivated in the mid-1990s in the Schneider administration but lapsed again when the members' terms expired, Boyce said.
Turnbull said that the territory's women come from many cultures and have a variety of issues to be addressed, celebrated and supported.
On the concerns side, he listed appropriate and affordable housing, improved quality of health care, economic self-sufficiency, more decision-making positions in the public and private sectors, implementation of policies supportive of women's needs, access to job opportunities, affordable quality child care, support for victims of violence and abuse, and expanded educational and supportive services to aid in career planning and job training.
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