A firestorm of public and political backlash has swept The Bahamas after Correctional Services Commissioner Doan Cleare made inflammatory remarks revealing a deliberate double standard for male and female recruits, prompting a rare public rebuke from the country’s National Security Minister and growing demands for his resignation.
The controversy ignited this week during a signing-on ceremony for the department’s new 81-person Squad A recruit cohort. Speaking to the incoming class, Cleare told new female trainees that a single misstep would result in immediate termination. In contrast, he noted that he would attempt to “massage” underperforming male recruits into compliance, justifying the softer approach by citing a widespread shortage of qualified male applicants for correctional roles. He also added that the department had adjusted its planned recruit gender ratio from an original 70 men/30 women split to 60 men/40 women after external pressure, framing the change as an unwanted concession.
News of the comments spread rapidly, drawing swift condemnation from across the political spectrum and women’s advocacy groups. By Thursday, National Security Minister Myles LaRoda delivered an extraordinary public reprimand of Cleare, a senior public official under his portfolio, during a sitting of the House of Assembly. LaRoda confirmed he had summoned Cleare to his office immediately after learning of the discriminatory remarks, and that Cleare had since sent a written apology to both the permanent secretary of the department and the minister himself.
Cleare has defended his comments by claiming they were made in jest during a casual interaction with recruits, but that explanation has done little to defuse tensions. LaRoda made clear that the commissioner’s position carries inherent public weight, and even offhand remarks that endorse gendered treatment have no place in Bahamian public institutions. “We strongly disagree with those words that was used and that there’s no place in our country where a leader could feel comfortable in saying that females, in particular, would be treated differently from males, especially when it comes to institutions that have been dominated by males,” LaRoda told parliament.
LaRoda also pushed back against the idea that gendered double standards are acceptable in modern Bahamian governance, pointing to the growing number of women holding senior leadership positions across the country’s public sector. He noted that every female government Member of Parliament holds a full Cabinet post, the Speaker of the House is a woman, the Royal Bahamas Police Force is led by a female commissioner, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force counts a woman as its deputy commodore, and Cleare’s own department has three female assistant commissioners.
Political leaders have echoed the minister’s condemnation, with many going further to call for formal investigation and leadership change. Killarney MP Michela Barnett-Ellis described the comments as “deeply concerning”, and called on LaRoda to launch an inquiry into whether the commissioner’s stated double standard is already reflected in existing discipline and termination practices across the prison system. Barnett-Ellis emphasized that Bahamian employment law, specifically Section 6 of the Employment Act, explicitly bans gender discrimination, requiring all employment decisions to be rooted in conduct, competence and performance rather than gender. She rejected the core logic of Cleare’s approach, arguing that women should not face harsher standards simply because more women apply, and men should not get special treatment just because fewer qualified men apply.
Former Opposition Leader Loretta Butler-Turner said she was “appalled” by the comments, and warned that the remarks contradict decades of progress toward gender equality in The Bahamas. “In 2026, Bahamian women should not be told they are held to a harsher standard than their male counterparts,” she said. “Our suffragettes fought generations for equality, and the laws of our Bahamas guarantee equality for all citizens in the workplace. There must be one standard of discipline, one standard of accountability, and one standard of opportunity.” She added that the comments are far more than a minor misstep, calling them a direct affront to the legacy of Bahamian women’s rights activists, and demanded that Cleare immediately retract the statements or face formal action.
Women United, a prominent Bahamian women’s advocacy organization, joined the call for Cleare’s resignation, with president and former senator Lisa Bostwick-Dean leading the charge. Bostwick-Dean acknowledged that Cleare’s underlying concern about declining numbers of qualified men entering law enforcement, nursing, education and trade fields is a valid issue to discuss, but argued that his framing and proposed policy response was inappropriate, discriminatory and demeaning. “Given that he has publicly declared that he will apply a different — more forgiving — standard to male recruits while reserving a zero-tolerance approach for women, he has demonstrated that he can no longer lead a mixed-gender squad with impartiality,” Bostwick-Dean said. She noted that Cleare’s open admission of intent to discriminate not only destroys trust and lowers morale among the women already serving in the department, but also exposes the entire Department of Corrections to major legal risk from wrongful termination claims. Alongside calling for his resignation, Women United is demanding a full independent investigation into the department’s recruitment policies and practices.
Women’s rights activist Alicia Wallace added that the comments risk undermining ongoing efforts to expand opportunities for women in traditionally male-dominated public sectors. She suggested that rather than doubling down on the comments, Cleare should openly explain the root of his concerns about gender balance in recruitment, so that policymakers and stakeholders can work to address the issue systematically without resorting to discriminatory policies.
Moving forward, LaRoda confirmed that the permanent secretary of the National Security Ministry will meet with Cleare this week to discuss the controversy in depth, and that the minister will join those talks to ensure all public concerns about gender discrimination are fully examined.
