Pat Francis was named as the interim head coordinator of the United Nations Secretary General’s panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment. She will lead and oversee the organization of the first meeting of the panel on March 16, 2016, at the UN headquarters in New York City. She will also supervise related preparations and coordinate the engagement of a lead author, who will provide two reports in September 2016 and March 2017. The Panel is the first to provide thoughtful leadership on these issues and to implement concrete actions designed to close the economic gender gaps that continue to exist globally. Francis has resigned from her post as chairman of the Public Sector Transformation and Modernization Program and the Trade Facilitation Task Force so that the new Jamaican government can choose its own chairman. She plans to return to Jamaica at the beginning of April 2016 to continue her contributions toward the nation’s development.

Photo Source: JIS