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Breaking the Glass Ceiling: The Stories of Three Caribbean Nurses

by Jocelyn Hezekiah

225 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #03-1895; ISBN 1-4120-1517-0; US$30.38, C$34.94, EUR23.69, £15.70

First printing all sold out!! The lives of three extraordinary women and their contributions to women and healthcare nationally and internationally. Told in their own voices and many others.

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about the book      about the author      sample excerpts and Table of Contents      catalogue info

About the Book Breaking the Glass Ceiling documents the achievements of three leaders in Caribbean nurshing at the time of the nascent struggle for indigenous leadership in all areas of West Indian society. It is a narrative of the lives of three extraordinary women who gained both regional and international recognition: Dame Nita Barrow of Barbados, Berenice Dolly of Trinidad and Tobago, and Dr. Mary Sievwright of Jamaica. A feminist and colonialist theoretical perspective is used for the exploration of political, social and economic structures of the societies prior and during the nurses' era in order to provide a context for their achievements and contributions. They were bright, black women who embraced each challenge that came their way as an opportunity for growth. This growth was not for personal gain or self-aggrandizement but for the good of womankind and the nursing profession...The single common distinguishing feature of these three women was their selfless devotion to service. They worked relentlessly to improve the image of nursing, the nursing profession, and the status of women. Each one did so in her own unique way, and each had a deep, abiding religious faith. Their stories depict their different approaches to their service to women generally and nursing specifically, whether it was in the international arena, in the Caribbean setting or in their own native land. They were outstanding role models. They rose to prominence in a society in which racism, gender and class distinctions existed and did so with continued vitality and political savvy then most women at the time. They defied tradition within a traditional woman's occupation. They blazed the way for black women and nurses in particular to reach for the top. They were the first black women in nursing in the Caribbean to receive national and international acclaim, albeit not all to the same extent, and were the acknowledged role models for black nurses and women in the region.

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About the Author Jocelyn Agatha Hezekiah was born and educated in Trinidad, West Indies. She received her basic training in nursing at The Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton, Sussex, England where she graduated as a State Registered Nurse; and later a State Certified Midwife from The Churchill Hospital, Oxford, England. She obtained a Bachelor of Nursing at McGill University, a Master of Education at Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta. Jocelyn has had wide and varied experience in nursing practice, nursing education and nursing service. She was the first Caribbean nurse to be elected President of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario where she served as President-elect from 1977-79 and President from 1979-81. She has been a member of a number of professional and government committees concerned with nursing education. Prior to retirement in June 1997, Jocelyn was Associate Profession, McMaster University, Hamilton. She is currently an international nursing education consultant. Her practice and consultantcies over the years have been involved in many developing countries such as Trinidad, Jamaica, Nepal, Thailand and Pakistan. Jocelyn has published, presented papers and given addresses at provincial, national and international venues. Her most recent publication, a book published by UWI Press in 2001, entitled "Breaking the Glass Ceiling: The Stories of Three Caribbean Nurses" addresses the contributions of Dame Nita Barrow, Dr. Mary Seavright and Ben Dolly to nursing and health care.

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Sample Excerpts and Table of Contents

CONTENTS

List of Illustrations
Preface
Introduction

PART I

Nita Barrow

CHAPTER ONE

Laying the ground work: Service and Activism
Education and gender/race
The choice of nursing
Health conditions
Post-diploma studies
Her Jamaican sojourn
Formation of a Nurses' Association
Leadership in basic nursing education

CHAPTER TWO

Reaching the Pinnacle
Leadership in nursing service
Further education
Change in metropolitan power
First Nursing Administrators Conference
Regional leadership
Regional Nursing Body
President of the World YWCA
The World Council of Churches
Adult education for women
Ambassador to the United Nations
Governor-General

PART II

Berenice Dolly

CHAPTER THREE

A Woman of Action

Historical Perspective
The current setting
Ben's Family
Woman's Organizations
Governmental Activities
CHAPTER FOURA Woman of Integrity

The role of education
Genesis of nurses; training
The Nurses' association
The Nursing Council
Regional contributions
Caribbean Nurses Organization
First Nursing Administrators Conference
Trinidad and Tobago Registered Nurses
Counselling and Advisory Service
Furthering her education
Executive Secretary of Trinidad and Tobago
Registered Nurses Association

PART III

Mary Jane Seivwright

CHAPTER FIVE

Beating the Odds

The political and economic landscape
Social Climate
Her early years
Nursing training
Public health nursing
Further education and practice
Post-graduate studies and research
International service

CHAPTER SIX

An Extraordinary Woman

The University of the West Indies
The Advanced Nursing Education Unit
The administrator
The Nurse Practitioner Program
The teacher and mentor
the Nurses Association of Jamaica
Unionization of nurses
The Nursing Council
Regional activities
The senator

Bibliography
Index

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

1     Formal Portrait of Dame Nita Barrow, 1993
2     On the grounds of University of Toronto, 1943
3     West Indian female friends, University of Toronto, 1943
4     West Indian students, University of Toronto, 1943
5     Battered, weather-beaten suitcase, Jamaica, 1945
6     President of the Nurses Association of Jamaica, 1946
7     Presidents of the Nurses Association of Jamaica, 1946-56
8     Caribbean Nurses Organization Meeting, 1968
9     External Advisor, Edmonton, Alberta, 1987
10     Relaxing with the author after her defense, Edmonton, Alberta, 1987
11     Dame Nita mixing with the crowd, Barbados, 1995
12     Bust of Dame Nita
13     Ben Dolly, Point-a-Pierre, Trinidad, 1996
14     Ben's Family, Maraval, Trinidad, 1996
15     President of Soroptomists International of Trinidad and Tobago, 1976
16     Prior to entry into nursing, 1936
17     Nursing Council Building, 1979
18     Dolly-Hargreaves Building, 1979 19     Admission to International Council of Nurses, Brazil, 1953
20     Sight-seeing, International Council of Nurses Congress, Rome, 1957
21     Caribbean nurses after church service, CNO Biennial Conference, Trinidad, 1980
22     Relaxing at 13^th Biennial Conference, CNO, Bahamas, 1982
23     After church service,13^th Biennial Conference, CNO, Bahamas, 1982
24     Nurses' Week, Methodist Church, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, 1979 25     2^nd Quadrennial Health Seminar
26     Working Behind the scenes, 1994
27     Mary Jane Seivwright, President of the Nurses Association of Jamaica, 1974
28     Summer School, Jamaica, 1969
29      Quadrennial Congress ICN, Montreal, Canada, 1969
30     Delegates to the Commonwealth Nursing Seminar, Barbados, 1970
31     Mary with Enid Lawrence, Nurse Practitioner program, Mona, Jamaica, 1982
32     Nursing Education Seminar, Kingston, Jamaica, 1973
33     Jamaican Delegation, ICN, Korea, 1989
34     Socializing at Annual General meeting, NAJ, Ocho Rios, 1991
35     Unveiling plaque, Boardroom, NAJ, Kingston, 1995
36     With Past Presidents and honored nurses, NAJ, Kingston, 1995
37     With Japanese Nursing Association, ICN, Tokyo, Japan, 1997
38     Mary Jane Seivwright Building, Mona, Jamaica, 1997

Nita Barrow

Chapter 1

Laying the groundwork: Service and Activism

Starting with an anecdote about news of the death of Dame Nita, the writer shares episodes, people and events in the early life of this woman. Th influences of her family with an activist father who championed the causes of the poor and underprivileged, and whose ministry took the family to many islands, her middle class upbringing, her nurse's training in Barbados, and post-graduate studies in Trinidad, Canada, Scotland and the United States are discussed.

Chapter 2

Reaching the Pinnacle

Opportunities and challenges were a constant in Nita's life. The various nursing positions she held in the Caribbean, and her impact on the region in terms of nursing and health care are explored and developed through Nita's perspective and those of her peers. Her role as a feminist and activist is analyzed through the development of Caribbean nursing leaders as well as her commitment to the development of women and her championship of human rights. Her many distinguished awards and her rise to the Caribbean's highest position are discussed.

Bernice Dolly

Chapter 3

A Woman of Action

"Ben's" current activities within the context of her home and community environs in Southern Trinidad are described and analysed. Her ability at 79 years of age to coordinate numerous activities such as answering phone calls, instructing the gardeners, and directing her housekeeper as well as attending nursing and community meetings are a few examples cited. THe year that the interviews take place, 1996, is used as the spring board for developing a portrait of Ben's social activism and achievements through the use of anecdotes from Ben's colleagues, her family, her own perspective and the writer's observations.

Chapter 4

A Woman of Action

A retrospective look at Ben's childhood, nurses' training, post-graduate studies and her professional activism are presented. THe areas developed and discussed include her middle-class upbringing with parents who were involved in community life, her drive for the formation of a Joint Nurses' Association, post-basic nursing courses, registration for nurses, and membership in the International Council of Nurses.

Mary Jane Seivwright

Chapter 5

Beating the Odds

Mary's humble beginnings in a poor, rural area in Jamaica, the key influences in her early life, her determination, her nurses' training in Jamaica, and her post-graduate studies in the United States are described from the perspective of Mary and colleagues. As well, her involvement during her post-graduate studies with nursing education in the Caribbean is developed.

Chapter 6

An Extraordinary Woman

Mary's appointment as the first Caribbean woman to head the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at the University of West Indies, her drive to get the Nurse Practitioner program implemented, and to have the Advanced Nursing Unit become an established Department at the University until her retirement is a focus of this chapter. As well, her singular devotion to the Registered Nurses Association of Jamaica and the Nursing Council, and her political involvement are described and analyzed.

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Catalogue Information

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