Gertrude Eastmond

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GertrudeLilian Eastmond-Welch (died 1 April 2024) was a Barbadian businesswoman and politician of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP).

Biography

Eastmond was educated at St. Elizabeth Primary School. [1] Eastmond worked as a businesswoman and owned a supermarket and shopping centre. [2]

At the 1971 Barbadian general election, [3] Eastmond was elected to the House of Assembly of Barbados for the constituency St. Michael North East as a member of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP). [4] [5] She was the second woman to be elected to the House of Assembly of Barbados, [6] after Edna Ermyntrude Bourne, who was elected twenty years earlier. [7] [8] Eastmond was a member of the Democratic League of Women (DLW) within the DLP. [9]

From 1971 to 1976, Eastmond served as Parliamentary Secretary of Health and Welfare. [10] On 15 October 1976, Eastmond resigned as Parliamentary Secretary and from the DLP. [11] [12] She ran as an independent candidate at the 1976 Barbadian general election, [13] but was not elected. [14]

After her term in office, Eastmond became president of the Barbados Employers Confederation. [15]

Eastmond died on 1 April 2024, aged 95. [1] [16]

References

  1. 1 2 Brathwaite, Sheria (31 May 2024). "Brothers donate to school to honour late mum". Barbados Today. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  2. World's Freest Nation. Ebony. September 1975. p. 48.
  3. WOMEN IN POLITICAL LEADERSHIP IN THE CARIBBEAN (PDF). United Nations Women. November 2018. p. 11.
  4. "Barbados General Election Results 1971". www.caribbeanelections.com. Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  5. Price, Sanka (1986). Politics Barbados: The Guide to the General Election, 1986. Sanka Price Jnr. p. 46.
  6. Deane, Sandy (4 September 2024). "DLP women push back against misogyny claims amid high-profile resignations". Barbados Today. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  7. "History of Barbados Parliament". Totally Barbados. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  8. Hosein, Gabrielle; Parpart, Jane (22 December 2016). Negotiating Gender, Policy and Politics in the Caribbean: Feminist Strategies, Masculinist Resistance and Transformational Possibilities. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC. p. 29. ISBN   978-1-78348-752-3.
  9. "WOMEN in Barbados deserve to be Included and Heard". The Bajan Reporter. 9 March 2024. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  10. "Barbados Ministers". www.guide2womenleaders.com. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  11. Caribbean Insight. Vol. 13–15. Goodyear Gibbs (Caribbean). 1990. p. 7.
  12. Caribbean Monthly Bulletin. Vol. 10–11. Institute of Caribbean Studies, University of Puerto Rico. 1976. p. 29.
  13. Emmanuel, Patrick (1979). General Elections in the Eastern Caribbean: A Handbook. Institute of Social and Economic Research (Eastern Caribbean), University of the West Indies. p. 69.
  14. "Barbados General Election Results 1976". www.caribbeanelections.com. Archived from the original on 28 August 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  15. Woman Speak!. 1982. p. 27.
  16. "Students receive financial support". Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 19 September 2025.