In 1983, CARICOM celebrated its 10th anniversary and during a meeting of Ministers of Women’s Affairs to commemorate this event, it was recognized that the 1973 Treaty of Chaguaramas addressed the need to examine the position of women in the Region. Evolving out of the deliberations at the meeting of Ministers was the recommendation to confer an Award to an outstanding CARICOM woman whose work had made a significant contribution to the socio-economic development of the Caribbean. In response, the CARICOM Secretariat introduced the CARICOM Triennial Award for Women
Magda Lois Muriel Pollard, national of Guyana, and stalwart women’s activist was fittingly bestowed the honour of the fourth CARICOM Triennial Award for Women in 1993. Throughout her country of birth and the wider Caribbean region, the name Magda Pollard is synonymous with the movement for women’s empowerment and women’s rights. The creation of a liberating and sustaining environment for women is the passion which fuels her lifelong and consistent service in the arena of women’s development.