Women are "grossly under-represented" in politics in Bermuda, Environment Minister Neletha Butterfield was due to tell parliamentarians at a conference in Grenada today.

According to prepared remarks for a regional session of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Ms Butterfield also criticised the Government and the Opposition for failing to appoint any women to the Senate.

Ms Butterfield, who last week saw the female representation in the Cabinet fall from four to three with the resignation Tourism Minister Renee Webb, said: "We continue to be grossly under-represented at the political decision-making table at which important decisions are made about community, social, family, health and education affairs which, arguably, have a greater impact on women than men.

"Women can bring to the table a sense of community, a family perspective, and a level of compassion, sensitivity and support that, I believe, tend to escape the average male."

Ms Butterfield is attending the the 29th Conference of the Caribbean, The Americas and Atlantic Region of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

Delegates attending the conference, held in Grenada, West Indies, include Government MP Derrick Burgess, Opposition MP Jamahl Simmons and Speaker of the House Stanley Lowe.

Ms Butterfield's remarks relate to a target set in 1997 by the Commonwealth Heads of Government to have no less than 30 percent of women in decision-making in the political sector by the year 2005.

Ms Butterfield said the 2000 Census revealed that 13 percent of Bermudian households are one-parent households of which 90 percent are headed by a woman.

"The median annual household income of female-headed households is 19 percent lower than male households. Thirty-seven percent of one-person households, which are predominantly female led, are defined as "poor" or "near poor", she said.

Ms Butterfield added that in 1998, Bermuda was in the unique position of having women leading all three parties into a General Election.

"Furthermore, on 9th November 1998 the country was led to the polls by a female Premier, and on 10th November Bermuda was led by a different female Premier as, I am pleased to report, the leader of the Progressive Labour Party in the party's first election victory."

But that did not mean women in Bermuda had equal representation in politics, she said.

"If education and economic resources are the keys to greater participation by women in political decision-making, then the conditions and economic climate in Bermuda should be fertile ground for women parliamentarians," she added.

She pointed out how the 2000 Census reported that the number of Bermudian women with a university education outstripped their male counterparts by 30 percent. Nearly 90 percent of the Bermudian female working population is in employment.

This must be one of the highest participation rates in the world with 51 percent of Bermuda's workforce made up of women, she said.

"These figures suggest an economically empowered female population. One would expect this to translate into an enviable participation rate of Bermudian women in the political arena," she said.

Instead, just eight of the 36 seats in the House of Assembly and just one out of 11 in the Senate are held by women, equating to a participation rate of just 19 percent.

"I am disappointed to report that not one of the eight Senators appointed by the Government and the Opposition is a woman. At the highest decision-making level, Cabinet, we fare a little better with three female Ministers out of a total of 11. Until a week ago, four of the Government's five female parliamentarians were in Cabinet."

Ms Butterfield continued: "At the Cabinet level in 1998, women have been responsible for major policy initiatives in the areas of e-commerce, telecommunications, tourism, labour, home affairs, public safety, health, social services, education, finance and the environment. And, for the first five years we were led by women in the roles of Premier and Attorney General. By any standards, this is an impressive list even if the overall participation rate is a relatively low 19 percent."

Ms Butterfield said in male-dominated societies, efforts and initiatives designed to increase women's participation in politics to a more acceptable level have as much to do with political will as with equality of opportunity.

As at April 2000, it was reported that only one of the 54 member nations of the Commonwealth could boast they had 30 percent or more women in their national Parliament. Fifty percent of the world's population is female.

Participation of women in politics in the Caribbean region is about 19 percent.

"These masculine institutions thrive on an adversarial, aggressive and confrontational political style that creates an inhospitable environment for women," said Ms Butterfield.

She pointed out that supporters and critics of affirmative action strategies agree there is a need to level the playing field.

"The common themes are the provision of equal access to education and training for women, economic independence, and equality of employment."

Other topics covered at the conference were the role of resolution in easing the burden on the civil courts, the role of the media in Parliamentary Democracy, strengthening the family structure and promoting the rights of women and children, and new AIDS/HIV initiatives that make a difference.