Record 19 women for House
Published:Thursday | September 4, 2025 | 3:25 AMTanesha Mundle/Staff Reporter
A record 19 women from both major political parties secured victories in Wednesday’s general election, with six of them set to enter the House of Representatives as first-time members of parliament (MPs).
The figure betters by one the previous high of 18 in 2020, which represented 28.6 per cent of the 63-member House.
Twelve women were elected in 2016.
A total of 52 women contested yesterday’s elections.
The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) fielded 15 women from its list of 63 candidates, with only two being non-returning MPs.
The People’s National Party (PNP) fielded 22 women, with only three having served as MPs in the last Parliament.
The female MPs for the JLP are Fayval Williams (St Andrew Eastern), Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn (St Andrew West Rural), Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert (Trelawny Southern), Marlene Malahoo Forte (St James West Central), Audrey Marks (Manchester North Eastern), Olivia Grange (St Catherine Central), Juliet Holness (St Andrew East Rural), Krystal Lee (St Ann North Western), Tova Hamilton (Trelawny Northern), Rhoda Moy Crawford (Manchester Central), and Kerensia Morrison (St Catherine North Eastern).
The female MPs for the PNP are Zulieka Jess (St Elizabeth North Eastern), Natalie Neita Garvey (St Catherine North Central), Dr Andrea Brown Burke (St Catherine South Western), Yvonne Rose Shaw (St Thomas Eastern), Nekeisha Burchell (St James Southern), Andrea Purkiss (Hanover Eastern), Heatha Miller-Bennett (Hanover Western) and Denise Daley (St Catherine Eastern).
Both major political parties have made efforts to increase the number of women in Parliament.
JLP Leader Dr Andrew Holness, earlier this year, reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to supporting and empowering women, noting that their contributions are critical to Jamaica’s success. Citing the record number of women in Parliament, he stated that it demonstrates the progress the nation has made, particularly in supporting and empowering women.
Golding, for his part, said that the dramatic rise in the number of females contesting the general election for the party was a victory for inclusion. He noted that the PNP is working towards achieving gender parity.
Women have long played critical roles in Jamaican politics, despite systemic barriers, with trailblazers like Rose Leon, who chaired the JLP at its founding in 1944, and Iris Collins, the first woman elected to Parliament that same year, charting the way.
Between 1944 and 1976, only five women – Iris Collins, Rose Leon, Iris King, Enid Bennett, and Esme Grant – were elected to the House of Representatives, but the numbers have steadily increased since.
To date, Portia Simpson Miller remains the only woman to have served as prime minister of Jamaica. She was elected to Parliament nine times between 1976 and 2016. The late Enid Bennett of the JLP came closest in terms of electoral longevity, winning seven consecutive terms.
Olivia Grange yesterday become the second woman to be elected for seven terms after making light work of the PNP’s Ramoni Lewis in St Catherine Central.
Former St Ann South Eastern MP Lisa Hanna, who had survived a strong JLP swing in 2020 and did not seek re-election yesterday, described the political arena as a “blood sport”, noting that many women shy away from the field due to its intensity.
“You need a kind of political crocodile skin,” she said in a 2013 interview with The Gleaner in which she spoke about the resilience required to endure personal attacks and political rivalry.