Sometimes we need to listen to the stories and experiences from the proverbial horses’ mouth and hear their feelings and opinions in order to truly understand the human impact of discrimination. Last Wednesday, the EOC launched its monthly TTT programme, The Hard Conversations: Let’s Talk Equality, that seeks to do just that. What are the hard conversations? They are those topics we tend to avoid because they are hard to tackle but these are exactly the conversations we need to have if we want to see a difference.

To read more visit:  https://newsday.co.tt/2022/10/10/hard-conversations-critical-for-progress

‘The Hard Conversations: Let’s Talk Equality”, as a young panel of go-getters from stigmatised areas came together to discuss discrimination in employment.

October is Blind Awareness Month and many organisations and individuals around the world will focus on education to raise awareness on the accomplishments of those who are blind

The Equal Opportunity Commission (Commission/EOC) extends warm congratulations to EOC Vice-Chair Dr. Gabrielle Hosein on her receipt of the Medal for the Development of Women, gold, in the spheres of public education and advocacy.

To commemorate the month, the EOC will join a distinguished panel of guests at a Town Hall meeting hosted by the Council for the Development and Enhancement of the Family (CODE-F).

Let’s Talk Equality, is the EOC’s latest television programme that will bring together speakers who have experienced discrimination in certain categories and hopefully these first-hand stories and how persons can be personally affected will stir the pot of change.

What does it mean to be a republic? A quick search of a definition would tell us that a country is declared a republic when it establishes a constitution and supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives rather than a monarch.
It is a privilege and blessing to have the ability to elect our own head of state, independent of an external body, draw up our own laws and unlink ourselves from the identity of former colonisers and claim self-determination.

To read more visit:  https://newsday.co.tt/2022/09/26/eoc-role-in-upholding-

International Day of Sign Languages will be observed on Friday 23rd September, and we are taking the opportunity to raise awareness and support deaf people and other sign language users, as well as encourage members of the public to consider learning sign language.

On September 18, United Nations (UN) member states commemorated International Equal Pay Day. This day is dedicated to raising awareness of unequal pay for women and pushing to close the gender pay gap.

On May 9, we explained why the employer should take issues of sexual harassment seriously and what they should do to try to prevent it. Today we will consider what the employer should do when harassment actually occurs, that is, what would be appropriate corrective responses.

We See flags and buntings in our national colours red, white and black adorning buildings throughout the country. It is an indication that our nation’s independence anniversary is nigh. However, this year is not like any other year, it is Trinidad and Tobago’s diamond jubilee anniversary. It is a suitable time for us to reflect on what we prioritise as a society and decide if this is the path we would like to continue traversing together.

To read more visit: https://newsday.co.tt/2022/08/29/let-us-go-forward-in-unity/

Today marks International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion, an observation on the United Nations (UN) human rights calendar. The day is designed to draw attention to those who suffered or were persecuted for trying to exercise their freedom of religion or belief.

We should celebrate our unity across our differences on the nation’s diamond jubilee 60th Independence Day. The Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC) said that even though there is much we need to work on as a nation, we for the most part, co-exist peacefully and are tolerant; this forms part of our national identity. We should focus on the positives and aspire to deepen this unity. This is why the EOC is hosting an Instagram photo and video competition called “Real Unity”.

The Equal Opportunity Act empowers the Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC) to resolve discrimination matters fairly and impartially and, further, escalate a matter if there is no resolution or non-compliance. In some instances, consequences for non-compliance can hit an individual or a company in the pocket. In today’s column, we will explore three ways in which the act has both bark and bite in its pursuit of equality of treatment for all.

To read more visit: https://newsday.co.tt/2022/08/15/bark-and-bite-of-the-act/

The categories included in the Equal Opportunity Act (EOA) are broad and provide coverage for a wide range of services and accommodations. In previous columns, we discussed three categories, which are employment, education and provision of accommodation.