Despite achieving landmark leadership positions—including female prime ministers and Jamaica’s Defence Force chief—Caribbean women continue to confront profound systemic inequities. Statistical evidence reveals a stark contrast between symbolic representation and substantive inclusion: women constitute a mere 13–25% of military and law enforcement personnel, despite comprising over half the regional population. In legislative bodies, female parliamentarians hold only one-third of seats, while workforce participation rates of 40–60% obscure the prevalence of itinerant female labor near the poverty line. A significant dimension of this disparity is the overwhelming number of female-headed single-parent households across the region.
Global military trends may soon intensify these challenges. Ukraine’s necessity-driven female recruitment and Europe’s consideration of gender-inclusive conscription signal shifting norms. The United States’ historical reliance on conscription—potentially drawing 51% women—further underscores this trajectory. Caribbean nationals have historically traded military service for foreign citizenship, often at tragic cost: Bernard Gooden (Jamaica), Kimel Watt (Jamaica), and Dale McCallum (Hanover) died serving in Western armies, with Watt posthumously granted U.S. citizenship alongside 160 foreign-born soldiers in 2007.
Alarmingly, diaspora youth holding green cards or multiple citizenships remain eligible for conscription abroad, regardless of Caribbean ties. This reflects a broader pattern of regional involvement in foreign conflicts, dating back to World War I—exemplified by the 1917 execution of Jamaican teen Herbert Morrison, now recognized as a PTSD casualty.
With global powers increasingly dominating Caribbean airspace and territories, the region risks being leveraged for human capital in external conflicts. Trinidadian women may face early conscription due to their government’s military alignment with the U.S., potentially deploying as peacekeepers in Venezuela. Beyond the idyllic veneer of beaches and calypso lies a sobering reality: Caribbean youth, particularly women, may become collateral in geopolitical struggles far removed from their own—echoing Vietnam, Angola, Iraq, and Afghanistan.