Jamaica's men
Has empowerment of women in Jamaica forced men into the margins of society and church life? The Community of Women and Men in Mission team visit examined the issues.
Visit any street corner or town square during the day in Jamaica and see the same sight. Aimless, bored young men.
Nothing is happening.
Nothing is going to happen.
Some are seriously asking whether Jamaican young men are the new marginalised. Social pressures influence boys to drop out of the education system.
They are brought up to be tough - survivors in a hostile world. Boys are encouraged to learn how harsh life can be early and are pushed into employment to earn money as soon as possible.
Many boys find they cannot easily fit into Jamaican church life
Boys' early socialisation and society's expectations about male behaviour have been a handicap in West Indian schools.
The cultivation of the hard male Caribbean image makes this increasingly the case.
Among children, girls are encouraged to succeed in education. They are expected to be gentle, soft and behave well. It is more important for girls to continue studies so that they can be independent. As a result, two thirds of students graduating from the University of the West Indies are women.
Women's empowerment has led to many Caribbean men being set aside or marginalised in certain areas of life, in the home, and in some professions, says Prof Errol Miller of the University of the West Indies.
"The description of Caribbean societies points to lower-strata men's marginal position in the family, role reversal in a small but increasing number of household, boys' declining participation in the educational system," he says. "The majority of men are being eclipsed by women rising in all these areas." So has the working class man become the victim of a female conspiracy designed to punish men? The situation is far more complex: women experience domestic violence, sexual harassment, rape and child abuse. And women do not occupy the top jobs.
Church life
The situation is mirrored in churches.
That is what led the Community of Women and Men in Mission team that visited Jamaica to conclude that the church needs to promote gender equality, not the empowerment of women. "There is need to be sensitive to the Jamaican context," the team reported. "Men, very often more than women, need to be empowered and brought into the life of the Jamaican churches." In many churches such as Hope United Church in Kingston, men are in the minority in committees, as elders and especially as Sunday school teachers.
While men are in the majority in the leadership of the church - there are more ordained men and the most prominent figures in the national church tend to be male - women drive congregational life.
The dominance of women in the church leads to a lack of interest from youth, especially young men, who may not aspire to the most influential positionland do not see where they fit in.
The United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands is acutely aware of the situation. For new general secretary of the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands Rev Collin Cowan, the answer lies partly in providing role models and leadership. Men in positions of influence must show leadership in the less prominent aspects of church life.
Having left parish ministry Cowan considered carefully how he could fit into local congregational life. He has decided, to the surprise of his congregation, that he would offer himself to teach Sunday school to the young teenage groups. "It may not seem high profile work," he says, "but it is such an important age for children to have strong leadership. It is a challenge I am looking forward to very much."