Diversity Equality and Inclusion in Caribbean Organisations and Society An Exploration of Work Employment Education and The Law 1St Ed Edition Jacqueline H Stephenson Full Chapter

Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion in
Caribbean Organisations and Society:

An Exploration of Work, Employment,
Education, and the Law 1st ed. Edition
Jacqueline H. Stephenson
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Jacqueline H. Stephenson · Natalie Persadie ·
Ann Marie Bissessar · Talia Esnard
Diversity, Equality, and

Inclusion in Caribbean
Organisations and Society
An Exploration of Work,
Employment, Education,
and the Law
Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion in Caribbean
Organisations and Society
Jacqueline H. Stephenson · Natalie Persadie ·
Ann Marie Bissessar · Talia Esnard
Diversity, Equality,
and Inclusion in
Caribbean Organisations
and Society
An Exploration of Work, Employment,
Education, and the Law
Jacqueline H. Stephenson Natalie Persadie
University of the West Indies The University of Trinidad
St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago and Tobago
Point Lisas, Trinidad and Tobago
Ann Marie Bissessar
University of the West Indies Talia Esnard
St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago University of the West Indies
St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago
ISBN 978-3-030-47613-7 ISBN 978-3-030-47614-4 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47614-4
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Foreword
This book will focus on equality, inclusion and discrimination within the
English-speaking Caribbean region, specifically as it relates to employ-
ment, education, society and the law. Within extant literature, discrimi-
nation has been examined primarily from the perspective of industrialised
nations. This book is the first of its kind to comprehensively assess equal-
ity and inclusion within the Caribbean region.
One of the primary reasons for a lack of diversity and inclusion within
contemporary organisations is the perpetuation of discrimination within
society. This can be explained (in part) through the framework of the
theory of social categorisation, where individuals categorise others into
groups with the objective of identifying those who are similar to and/
or different from themselves (Wenzel 2004) and hence those with whom
they anticipate successful work and other relationships (Kurzban, Tooby
and Cosmides 2001).
Discrimination (which is the treatment of one person less favoura-
bly than another) has been referred to as the behavioural manifestation
of stigma (Thornicroft, Rose, Kassam and Sartorius 2007; Thornicroft,
Brohan, Kassam and Lewis-Holmes 2008). The application of disparate
treatment to organisational members as a consequence of fear, igno-
rance or acceptance of prejudicial stereotypes, could lead to the exclu-
sion of suitable candidates for employment, promotion, training or
retention within workplaces (Kirton and Greene 2000). This approach
to the supervision or management of human resources invariably leads
to workers of similar backgrounds being considered homogenous rather
v
vi FOREWORD
than as individuals with varying levels of skills and competence (Duncan

2003; Taylor and Walker 1998). It has been suggested (Woodhams,
Lupton and Cowling 2015), that continuous use of discriminatory prac-
tices could have a multiplier effect in many areas of the economy and by
extension the wider society. This in turn could be manifested through
lack of economic growth, reduced tax revenues and increases in pub-
lic expenditure—for example in relation to increased income support
required (McGuire and Roberson 2007; Neumark 2009).
Across the Commonwealth Caribbean, the Constitution provides
for an entitlement to equal treatment for all citizens. More specifically,
within the region, there are three island states which have enacted leg-
islation with the explicit purpose of prohibiting discrimination on the
basis of specified grounds and promoting equality. These islands are
Guyana (Prevention of Discrimination Act 1999), St. Lucia (Equality of
Opportunity and Treatment in Employment and Occupation Act 2000)
and Trinidad and Tobago (Equal Opportunity Act 2000). While the spe-
cific grounds of discrimination prohibited by these Acts vary, the com-
monly covered areas are: sex, race, religion, ethnic origin, marital status
and disability. Notably, within the Caribbean region, sexual orientation
has been excluded from the enacted equality legislation.
The current iteration of the equality discourse, is focused on the
concept of managing diversity, where organisations are encouraged to
strengthen their workforce and competitive advantage by employing
people who are different from the status quo. Further, it advocates inclu-
sivity and embracing the skills and talents of different types of employ-
ees (Thomas 1990), which may involve changing workplace policies and
practices such that there are no exclusions (intentional or unintentional),
by reason of an employee’s immutable characteristics (for example, age,
sex, race). It has been argued that even though the language used in
relation to equality is continuously updated, the changes are variations in
emphasis, rather than paradigm shifts (Oswick et al. 2010). This is to say
that the underlying premise remains unchanged, i.e. the achievement of
equity and fairness in employment (Liff 1999).
Though anti-discrimination law has been enacted in the Caribbean,
this, in and of itself, neither translates to societal changes nor changes
within the organisational context. Within the context of society and
related organisations and institutions, the directive of the law is only one
factor which contributes to the facilitation of change. Some of the lead-
ing drivers for organisational diversity and inclusion have been identified
as legal pressures, the need to recruit and retain the best talent, social
FOREWORD vii
responsibility, potential business benefits, moral arguments and the pur-

suit of social justice (CIPD 2007). Moreover, the realisation of desired
changes may necessitate challenging the veracity of accepted stereotypes by
showing that they are flawed, and as such people should be treated fairly,
irrespective of their membership in a minority group. In addition, it has
been suggested (Hornstein 2001) that the efficacy of anti-discrimination
legislation, in other jurisdictions, has been assisted by simultaneously pro-
moting equal rights and enhancing the education of both employers and
employees in relation to their rights and obligations as well as rigorous
enforcement of the law. It may be argued that within society, change will
only occur where there is a clear and obvious reason; where political and
societal leaders embrace the proposed changes and norms are updated
which are congruent with the changing dynamics of the society.
Where discrimination has been institutionalised in a society or an
organisation, prejudicial patterns of employment practice may be fol-
lowed without question, as a result of expectations within the work-
place (Renskin 2000). Indeed the existence of widespread discrimination
within society (Banaji 1999) may make it more challenging for changes
to be made to attitudes and practices within the organisational context or
other social institutions.
In this text the authors will examine:
i) Race Relations in the Caribbean: The Myth of Representative

Bureaucracy
ii) Equality and Discrimination on the Basis of Sex
iii) Sexual Orientation and Inclusivity in the Caribbean Region
iv) Disability: Disparate Treatment or Inclusion in Caribbean
Organisations
v) Politics and Inclusivity in the Caribbean
vi) Equality and the Law: A Caribbean Perspective
vii) Equality Laws Compared: The Caribbean, the UK and the USA
viii) Liberalisation of Higher Education in the Caribbean: Situating
Matters of Access, Diversity and Equity
ix) The Challenge of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Within
Educational Reform: The Case of Trinidad and Tobago
John LaGuerre
Professor Emeritus
University of the West Indies
St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago
viii FOREWORD
References
Banaji, M. R. (1999). The roots of prejudice. Greensboro, NC: Kendon Smith
Lectures, University of North Carolina.
CIPD. (2007). Diversity in business—A focus for progress, survey report March
2007. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
Duncan, C. (2003). Assessing Anti-Ageism Routes to older worker
re-engagement. Work, Employment and Society, 17(1), 101–120.
Equal Opportunity Act. (2000). Trinidad & Tobago.
Equality of Opportunity and Treatment in Employment and Occupation Act,
2000—St. Lucia.
Hornstein, Z. (Ed.). (2001). Outlawing age discrimination: Foreign lessons, UK
choices. Bristol: Policy Press.
Kirton, G., & Greene, A. M. (2000). The dynamics of managing diversity.
Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann.
Kurzban, R., Tooby, J., & Cosmides, L. (2001). Can race be erased? Coalitional
computation and social categorization. Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences, 98(26), 15387–15392.
Liff, S. (1999). Diversity and equal opportunities: Room for a constructive com-
promise? Human Resource Management Journal, 9(1), 65–75.
McGuire, S., & Roberson, M. (2007). Assessing the potential impact of the
introduction of age discrimination legislation in UK firms from an HRM and
JKM perspective. In Proceedings of Organizational Learning, Knowledge and
Capabilities Conference (OLKC), 2007—Learning Fusion.
Neumark, D. (2009). The age discrimination in employment act and the chal-
lenge of population aging. Research on Aging, 31(1), 41–68.
Oswick, C., Grant, D., Marshak, R. J., & Wolfram Cox, J. (2010).
Organizational discourse and change: Positions, perspectives, progress and
prospects. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 46(1), 8–15.
Prevention of Discrimination Act. (1999). Guyana.
Renskin, B. F. (2000). The proximate causes of employment discrimination.
Contemporary Sociology, 29, 319–328.
Taylor, P., & Walker, A. (1998). Policies and practices towards older workers: A
framework for comparative research. Human Resource Management Journal,
8(3), 61–76.
Thomas, R. R. (1990). From affirmative action to affirming diversity. Harvard
Business Review. March–April, 107–117.
Thornicroft, G., Brohan, E., Kassam, A., & Lewis-Holmes, E. (2008). Reducing
stigma and discrimination: Candidate interventions. International Journal of
Mental Health Systems, 2(1), 3.
FOREWORD ix
Thornicroft, G., Rose, D., Kassam, A., & Sartorius, N. (2007). Stigma: Ignorance,
prejudice or discrimination? The British Journal of Psychiatry, 190(3), 192–193.
Wenzel, M. (2004). A social categorisation approach to distributive justice.
European Review of Social Psychology, 15(1), 219–257.
Woodhams, C., Lupton, B., & Cowling, M. (2015). The presence of ethnic
minority and disabled men in feminised work: Intersectionality, vertical segre-
gation and the glass escalator. Sex Roles, 72(7–8), 277–293.
Contents
1 Introduction 1
2 Race Relations in the Caribbean: The Myth

of Representative Bureaucracy 15
3 Equality and Discrimination on the Basis of Sex 43
4 Sexual Orientation and Inclusivity

in the Caribbean Region 65
5 Disability: Disparate Treatment or Inclusion

in Caribbean Organisations 83
6 Politics and Inclusivity in the Caribbean 107
7 Equality and the Law: A Caribbean Perspective 131
8 Equality Laws Compared: The Caribbean, the UK

and the USA 157
9 Liberalisation of Higher Education in the Caribbean:

Situating Matters of Access, Diversity and Equity 185
xi
xii CONTENTS
10 The Challenge of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Within Educational Reform: The Case of Trinidad
and Tobago 209
11 Conclusion 233
Index 247
List of Tables
Table 2.1 Distribution of posts by race (%; 1970–1992) 25

Table 2.2 Racial representation in senior administrative positions
(%; 1992) 25
Table 2.3 Racial representation in selected professional positions
(%; 1992) 26
Table 2.4 Complaints received by the office of the Ombudsman (2017) 31
Table 2.5 Statistical data drawn from the EOC reports (2008–2013) 39
Table 3.1 Signatories to the Convention to End All Forms
of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW 1979) 45
Table 3.2 Share of women managers (%) at different management
levels and median of selected Caribbean countries (2017) 46
Table 3.3 Population statistics for Caribbean islands 48
Table 3.4 Gender inequality index (GII) 49
Table 3.5 World economic forum rankings by indicators (2016) 50
Table 3.6 Prevalence of initiatives on gender diversity among
respondent companies in the Caribbean (2017) 57
Table 4.1 Laws prohibiting buggery in the Commonwealth Caribbean 73
Table 5.1 Rates of disability in Caribbean islands 84
Table 5.2 Caribbean countries and relevant laws prohibiting
discrimination on the basis of disability 86
Table 5.3 Prevalence of disability by type (all persons), 2010/11
(Number of persons with disabilities per thousand) 91
Table 5.4 Economic activity of persons aged 15–59 with disabilities
by type of disability, 2010 (Percentage of persons who
are economically active) 96
xiii
xiv LIST OF TABLES
Table 6.1 Per cent of vote allocated to the majority parties

and seats obtained 119
Table 6.2 Vote allocated to the majority parties and seats obtained 119
Table 6.3 Results of the 1992 Guyana elections 122
Table 6.4 General Elections Results (2000–2010) 126
Table 7.1 English-speaking Caribbean countries with laws
addressing equality, equality at work, and equal pay;
and constitutional provisions for equality, equality
before the law and equal pay 135
Table 7.2 Prohibited grounds of discrimination in laws
addressing equality generally and at work
in English-speaking Caribbean 137
Table 7.3 Laws and relevant provisions addressing equality generally
and at work in English-speaking Caribbean countries 138
Table 7.4 Cases and Decisions taken pursuant to the Equal
Opportunity Act, Ch. 22:03 (Revised Laws of Trinidad
and Tobago 2015) 144
Table 7.5 Statistics compiled by the Equal Opportunity Tribunal
(Trinidad and Tobago) for the period 2014–2016
for complaints that alleged a status ground 149
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
The Anglophone Caribbean is an archipelago of former colonies of the

United Kingdom (UK), which gained independence during the 1960s
and 1970s. These islands include Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas,
Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St.
Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago. These
populations vary in size from 52,441 (St. Kitts and Nevis) to 2,890,299
(Jamaica), according to the most recent census data (i.e. 2000–2001).
The economies in the Caribbean region rely largely on tourism, oil and
gas, manufacturing, agriculture, financial services and, in the main, are
stable. These island states are considered variously as the third world or
developing countries but are generally economies managed by qualified
individuals with stable political governance and limited political unrest.
Despite being a collection of individual islands, governed by sepa-
rate independent governments, the Caribbean region is often regarded
as homogeneous, however, although the English-speaking islands are
collectively referred to as the Commonwealth Caribbean, there is a
widespread diversity across the island chain. Diversity may be broadly
categorised as either surface- or deep-level diversity. Surface-level diversity
refers to observable personal attributes such as sex, age, race inter alia,
while deep-level diversity refers to less observable characteristics includ-
ing one’s beliefs, values, attitudes and culture inter alia (Barak 2016;
Phillips and Loyd 2006; Roberson 2019). Within these groups there
are several points of departure particularly with respect to differences
© The Author(s) 2020 1

J. H. Stephenson et al., Diversity, Equality,
and Inclusion in Caribbean Organisations and Society,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47614-4_1
2 J. H. STEPHENSON ET AL.
in age, sex, race, culture, socialisation and education, which are evident
globally and by extension in the Caribbean region. Currently, there is a
paucity of literature in relation to equality, diversity and inclusion with a
focus on the English-speaking Caribbean (see Stephenson and Persadie
2019), hence the objective of this book is to critically assess whether,
and the extent to which, these issues are practically and theoretically rele-
vant, in respect of work, education, employment and society. To wit, this
text examines diversity, discrimination, inclusion and exclusion, on the
basis of sex, race, sexual orientation and disability, in relation to employ-
ment, education, politics and applicable legal and societal systems, in the
Caribbean.
The debate concerning equal opportunities and non-discrimination is
said to have evolved over time, from simply considering equality from
a radical or liberal perspective (Jewson and Mason 1986), to envelop-
ing new concepts, namely managing diversity accepting differences and
inclusion (Kirton and Greene 2006). The three primary categories of
equality are: equality of results, treatment/opportunity and consistency
(Jewson and Mason 1986). It has been suggested that pursuing equality,
with a view of treating everyone the same could be an “oversimplification
of the problem”. This is because treating everyone the same could result
in disadvantage, where for example within the organisational context,
all employees are given access to the same printed employee manual.
Although this may appear, prima facie, as an attempt to treat every-
one the same, employees who are visually impaired would be unable to
access the information in the manual, unless it is converted into braille
or they are permitted to use specially designed software in order to access
it. Such occurrences are observed in the workplace daily and this con-
tributes to the failure of some equal opportunity initiatives (Liff and
Wajcman 1996). Moreover, there is an absence of irrefutable evidence
to support any assertion that equal treatment approaches have resulted
only in benefits in relation to equality; in part, this is because accept-
ance of stereotypes appear to create some difficulty for organisational
managers to conceptualise job requirements in neutral terms (Collinson
et al. 1990; Curran 1988). An alternative approach to equality of treat-
ment is to find a way to value and utilise employee differences. This is
the managing diversity approach where organisations are encouraged
to strengthen their workforce and competitive advantage by employ-
ing different people from those already in the workforce. This approach
challenges the equal treatment model suggesting that people do not
1 INTRODUCTION 3
necessarily wish to be treated the same in every aspect of their working

life but, by offering different working arrangements or benefits, employ-
ers facilitating the diversity approach may realise greater benefits within
their workplaces, relative to those pursuing equality (Liff and Wajcman
1996). Managing diversity encourages a focus on inclusivity and embrac-
ing the skills and talents of different types of employees (Thomas 1990),
which may involve changing workplace policies and practices such
that there are no exclusions (intentional or unintentional) based on an
employee’s immutable characteristics (i.e. age, sex, race, etc.). It has been
argued that even though the language being used in relation to equality
is continuously being updated, the changes are variations in emphasis,
rather than paradigm shifts (Oswick et al. 2010). Otherwise stated, the
underlying premise remains unchanged, i.e. the achievement of equity
and fairness (Liff 1999).
One of the prevailing objectives in this ongoing discourse is the
reduction and/or elimination of discrimination. Discrimination is said
to occur when one person is treated less favorably than another, typ-
ically on the basis of immutable characteristics (Dipboye and Colella
2013). Discrimination in the Caribbean is prevalent primarily on the
grounds of race, sexual orientation, sex and disability. As it relates to
race, given the history of enslavement and indentured servitude within
the region, there remains some latent hostilities among racial groups
which comprise the populace (Bissessar 2002; Chadee 2003), which in
turn gives rise on occasion, to discrimination on the basis of race, par-
ticularly between racial groups (primarily persons of African and Indian
descent). Moreover, with buggery laws still in place in many Caribbean
islands, a remnant of colonial rule, discrimination is rife against persons
with an other than heterosexual orientation, i.e. members of the Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community. This is
further reinforced by the extent to which deterrent punitive measures
are embedded in relevant legislation, prevailing cultural norms, and reli-
gious beliefs, which dictate expected and accepted sexual behavior, such
that any deviation is opposed and rejected without due consideration
(CADRES 2013a, b, c). Further, discrimination on the grounds of sex is
manifested within society with men and women expected to perform cer-
tain roles in the home, workplace and society more broadly. For women,
disparate treatment can have an adverse effect on their ability to obtain
and retain desirable full employment, their remuneration, development
and career progression (Bissessar 2014; Esnard et al. 2015; Mahabir
and Ramrattan 2015). Within the Caribbean region, for persons of

working age, having a disability may prove challenging when trying to
secure employment; this is in part due to the acceptance of stereotypes
by employers as it relates to persons with disabilities (PWD) and their
capabilities. Such disparate treatment is also evident within wider soci-
ety as persons with disabilities experience less inclusion, and social satis-
faction as a result of their treatment and perception by the populace, as
a homogeneous group with significant limitations which prohibit their
involvement and potential contribution. Moreover, when compared with
other grounds of discrimination such as age, race, sex, members of these
marginalised groups have been associated with advantages to society and
employment unlike persons with disabilities (Woodhams and Danieli
2000).
One of the primary reasons for discrimination, a lack of diversity and
inclusion within contemporary societies is the acceptance of stereotypes,
particularly as it relates to groups of persons with whom individuals are
not familiar. Further, it has been argued that stereotypes are used as heu-
ristics, when individuals are unable (and/or unwilling) to apply more
comprehensive and analytical methods (Chiu et al. 2001; McGregor
and Gray 2002). In the workplace context, willingness by employers
to accept negative stereotypes can affect the ability of a worker to find
and retain gainful employment (Renskin 2000), which may impact the
extent to which they are able to be actively engaged in the labor force.
Nonetheless, the discussion above should not be taken to mean that
stereotypes are the only reason for the perpetuation of discrimination;
indeed, discrimination may also be based on animus, lack of knowledge
about the target group; divergent perceptions, the adoption of a prej-
udicial pattern of practice which is followed without question; and as a
result of cultural expectations (Kirton and Greene 2006; Renskin 2000).
Discrimination can also occur as a rational outcome of economic analyses
made about the potential contribution and productivity of workers based
on their characteristics (Gandy 2010; Harcourt et al. 2005; Smith and
Moore 2010).
Traditionally, jurisdictions may take action to address inequality and
discrimination by enacting equality legislation, establishing diversity pol-
icies, promoting diversity initiatives, facilitating cultural change, pursu-
ing moral suasion or pursuing a combination of these measures. Globally,
these approaches have had varying degrees of success, as it relates to
eliminating or reducing existing exclusionary and/or discriminatory
1 INTRODUCTION 5
policies and practices. This is evident in developed countries includ-

ing (but not limited to) the UK, Canada and the USA, where, although
equality and anti-discrimination legislation and non-legislative measures
have been established since the 1960s and 1970s, marginalised groups
continue to experience inequality and disparate treatment (though their
reported incidence has declined). Notwithstanding this, such measures
are vital, as legislation, for example, provides guidance by outlining legal
prohibitions and raising the profile of the ethical and moral problems of
discrimination and exclusion, and contributes to the reduction in tar-
geted and unfavorable attitudes and behavior against marginalised soci-
etal groups (Bennington and Wein 2000).
It may be argued that the limited impact of these legal measures may
be attributed to the comparatively non-litigious nature of the Caribbean
region, relative to that of developed countries; lack of awareness by the
Caribbean populace of their legal rights; unwillingness by them to make
complaints and/or file claims; perceived length of the process; and lack
of support for actions which may be necessary to see the process through
to its logical conclusion. In enacting legislation to outlaw discrimination,
where change is desired beyond that which is superficial, it is important
for legislators to acknowledge the role of attitudes and the influence and
complex nature of societal culture. Failure to do so could mean that the
response to established legal measures intended to eliminate discrimina-
tory practices is likely to be sluggish (Dickens 2005; Loretto and White
2006). However, where there is fear of the imposition of punitive meas-
ures, legislative compliance appears to be more readily observed (Dickens
1999; Taylor and Walker 1998). Further, legal protection offered by
anti-discrimination legislation, may have an unintended discriminatory
effect in respect of employment, education and the provision of goods
and services, such that individuals are not hired; offered places within
educational institutions; or allowed access to goods and services, because
of fears on the part of relevant institutions, that any action taken (in rela-
tion to members of marginalised groups), could result in legal action, if
perceived to be discriminatory, even where it is not. For example, where
a person with a disability is justifiably terminated due to insubordination,
misconduct, unacceptable behaviour which violate the workplace’s pol-
icies and/or subpar performance, organisations may fear that although
the reasons for termination are legitimate and unrelated to the employ-
ee’s disability, that this may be used to support their claim of discrim-
ination or wrongful dismissal, thus adversely affecting the organisation
and its reputation, even where the organisation is ultimately found by

the courts and/or employment tribunals to be justified in their action.
Organisations are one of the key stakeholders in the economies of the
region, hence, where discrimination is widespread, this could result in
unemployment or underemployment, which could mean that displaced
individuals will rely on state payments which in turn could have an
adverse effect on the sustainability of the islands’ economies.
Where the extant culture is such that stereotypes are accepted, there is
no evidence to suggest that anti-discrimination legislation has been effec-
tive in resulting in immediate, in-depth and sustained changes towards
inclusion or non-discrimination. In fact, prevailing societal and organisa-
tional culture has often developed over time and has become institution-
alised, thus change requires the commitment of relevant stakeholders but,
even with this, change cannot be expected to occur immediately and with-
out resistance. The passage of this type of legislation is likely to result in
the diminution of blatant discriminatory practices and policies, however,
those policies and practices which represent indirect discrimination, and as
such are more latent are likely to continue to be perpetuated. In short,
change, where it is required by legislation is likely to be incremental.
Turning to other influential change drivers, where organisations are
motivated by the objective of being as fair as possible to all employees
(Dickens 1999; Kirton and Greene 2006), the pursuit of social justice
could be influential in the policies and changes within the workplace
(CIPD 2007). Finally, a desire to follow the business case approach may
lead to changes in employment practice where employers are moti-
vated to make changes to practice, which would be beneficial to their
workplace, as for example, where it results in increased productivity or
increased profitability (CIPD 2007, 2018; Dickens 1994). These poten-
tial change drivers are not mutually exclusive and may be most effective
when applied together. Indeed, Dickens (2007) advanced the notion of
a three-pronged approach where the elements of the business case, legal
regulation and social regulation are most likely to effectively address
issues of discrimination.
As it relates to the organisational context, the business case bene-
fits of inclusion and non-discrimination may include: increased prof-
itability, offsetting labour and skill shortages (since a diverse workforce
reflects the composition in society and consequently the goods and/
or services produced by the workplace are likely to have greater appeal
to a wider cross-section of society); a diverse workplace could mean a
1 INTRODUCTION 7
greater level of innovation and ideas (Kochan et al. 2003; Subeliani

and Tsogas 2005). Moreover, it has been contended that discrim-
ination is largely irrational thus, when workplaces realise this they will
cease to discriminate and abandon their exclusionary practices, in favour
of non-discrimination and the potential for business benefits (Gandy
2010; Rubenstein 1987). However, this simplistic and somewhat ideal-
istic view has been challenged and its legitimacy is the subject of debate
(Bendick et al. 1991; Hayles and Mendez 1997), not least because of the
absence of tangible evidence to support such an assertion. It has been
further suggested that the point of departure as to whether workplaces
are likely to realise benefits is dependent on the environment in which
the workplace functions (Herring 2009; Kochan et al. 2003). This may
consist of the culture of the workplace, the commitment of management
to non-discrimination, the way in which non-discriminatory practices
are implemented and the composition of the workforce, as well as exter-
nal influences which may include the competitive nature of the sector in
which the workplace functions.
Across the islands of the Commonwealth Caribbean, the
Constitutions of each jurisdiction provides for an entitlement to equal
treatment for all citizens. More specifically, within the region, there are
three island states which have enacted legislation with the explicit pur-
pose of promoting equality and prohibiting discrimination on the
basis of specified grounds. These islands are Guyana (Prevention of
Discrimination Act 1999), St. Lucia (Equality of Opportunity and
Treatment in Employment and Occupation Act 2000) and Trinidad
and Tobago (Equal Opportunity Act 2000). Moreover, several
Caribbean island states are signatories to international equality con-
ventions, including the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO)
C111—Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention,
1958 (No. 111); the ILO’s Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951
(No. 100); the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women, 1979; and the United Nations
Convention on the rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2006. While the
specific grounds of discrimination prohibited by the indicated Acts vary,
the commonly covered areas are: sex, race, religion, ethnic origin, marital
status, origin and disability. Notably, within the Caribbean region, sexual
orientation has been excluded from enacted equality legislation and, in
many island states, most notably (to date) with the exception of Belize
and the Bahamas, same-sex sexual conduct is illegal.
Notwithstanding the limited passage of non-discrimination legis-

lation, inequalities and disparate treatment continue to prevail within
the Caribbean region. There is no legislative obligation to treat mem-
bers of marginalised groups more favourably, with the intent of improv-
ing their outcomes, as this would necessitate positive discrimination,
which is not permitted within the Caribbean region’s legislative model.
Moreover, a legislative obligation of non-discrimination simply means
the imposition of an obligation on the populace (and relevant societal
stakeholders) not to discriminate, but this has not been extended to a
requirement to treat each individual fairly, such that there is equality
of opportunity and equality of outcome, across the board. This would
arguably require (particularly where there is cause for concern) more
rigorous and comprehensive attention to policy, changes to practice and
monitoring and enforcement of the workplace to ensure that the princi-
ples of equality continue to be upheld. Nevertheless, the enactment of
anti-discrimination legislation in the region is important to ensure: (i) an
awareness of discriminatory practices which are considered unacceptable;
and (ii) the establishment of a legal framework to offer recourse to any-
one against whom acts of discrimination have been perpetrated.
This book is important at this time because there is a paucity of litera-
ture on issues of discrimination, inclusion and diversity in the Caribbean
region and, where such publications exist, they give only cursory con-
sideration to theoretical applications. Further, due to the recent and
limited enactment of anti-discrimination legislation in the Caribbean,
there is limited extant literature which assesses the way in which the law
has been applied to filed discrimination cases, and the extent to which
it has been effective in addressing disparate treatment for those groups
specifically protected therein. This book also establishes a benchmark for
future researchers, who may explore further the issues of discrimination
and its effect on the populace. Legislators and policy makers may wish
to consider the analysis within this text in making legislative amend-
ments or enacting new laws, with a view to broaden the range of per-
sons protected as it relates particularly to sexual orientation. In addition,
organisational practitioners may find these discussions useful, where cur-
rent policies and/or practices are shown to be unlikely to further their
organisation objective vis-à-vis productivity and sustainability. This dis-
cussion is important as there is limited available literature as it relates to
discrimination, diversity, inclusion and equality in the Caribbean region
and, much of what is accepted as representative of reality, is based on
1 INTRODUCTION 9
anecdotal evidence. Insights may be gleaned from the experiences and

outcomes of international jurisdictions where anti-discrimination legisla-
tion has been enacted for significant periods of time. As an existing issue
within the Caribbean region, this text offers a timely catalyst through
which these important issues may be discussed and understood. It also
facilitates opportunities to consider amendments and policy directives
and expands the extant literature on these significant issues. This book
may therefore be a useful reference text for undergraduate and postgrad-
uate students, organisational practitioners, societal groups, political and
community leaders. It offers empirical data and rigorously reviewed liter-
ature and critical analyses of the issues of equality, diversity and inclusion
in the Caribbean.
The chapters in this volume are as follows: This first chapter intro-
duced the concepts of equality, discrimination and diversity, and offered
an overview of the relevant practices in the Caribbean region in key
areas within society. In Chapter 2, relationships between members of
those racial groups represented in the region are evaluated, as it relates
to effectively managing racial segregation in Guyana and Trinidad and
Tobago. This is followed by Chapter 3 where equality and discrimination
on the basis of sex in the Caribbean is assessed, specifically as it relates
to employment, salient issues such as pay equality, opportunities for
promotion and development and recruitment are primarily considered.
Chapter 4, which follows, critically analyses the history and current status
of sexual orientation and inclusivity in the Commonwealth Caribbean.
Included here is an analysis of the type of discrimination faced by mem-
bers of the LGBTQ community, the legal protections to which members
of the group have access and the consequences on this community and
society more broadly as a result of their exclusion. Chapter 5 then dis-
cusses persons with disabilities and their experiences within Caribbean
organisations, their access to gainful employment, the prevailing stere-
otypes with respect to persons with disabilities and accommodations
made for persons with disabilities in organisations. Chapter 6 examines
the extent to which the political structure and systems in Trinidad and
Tobago and Guyana facilitate inclusion of different societal groups. This
is followed by Chapter 7, which presents an overview of the equality laws
that exist in this region, based on existing statute that provides for equal-
ity in a broad manner as well as statutory provisions that address equality
or non-discrimination for employment purposes. This is complemented
by a review of applicable case law which illustrates how the law has been
applied. Chapter 8 then facilitates a comparison of the equality laws in

the region with legislation from selected developed countries as it relates
to their overarching and key principles and offers some insight to leg-
islators, practitioners and government officials as to how equality laws
in the Caribbean may be improved to make them more effective. After
this, Chapter 9 critically discusses the meanings/constructions, policy
leanings or strategies, and challenges associated with advancing inclusive
agendas within the education system of Trinidad and Tobago. This chap-
ter also analyses global educational trends, the associated challenges and
nuanced ways in which these complicate and influence equity and diver-
sity within the Caribbean region. Following this is Chapter 10 which
critically analyses changing educational landscapes, and how these collide
and intensify contextual concerns, and complicate the call for promoting
equity, diversity and social inclusion within the Caribbean region. The
final Chapter 11 concludes the text by evaluating key findings from each
of the preceding chapters as it relates to diversity, equality, discrimination
and inclusion in the island states of the Caribbean region.
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1 INTRODUCTION 13
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CHAPTER 2
Race Relations in the Caribbean: The Myth

of Representative Bureaucracy
Introduction
Trinidad and Tobago, a twin-island Republic is often classified as a
model of a plural society. According to Furnival (1948), in a plural soci-
ety each group maintained its own religion, culture and language, their
own ideas and ways and met in the market place.1 He argued that the
dominance of one group by the other was the essential precondition
for the maintenance of social and political order. In the case of Trinidad
and Tobago, the two majority groups were East Indian and African
descended populations who were imported to work on the plantations.
Unlike a true plural society the two groups have adopted a common lan-
guage (English); many to a large extent share religious beliefs,2 and their
children attend common schools both at the elementary, secondary and
tertiary levels.3 While there has been some measure of assimilation, yet,
1 J.
S. Furnival. Netherland Indies. London: Cambridge University Press.
2 According to the 2011 Census, 33.4% of the population was Protestant (includ-
ing 12.0% Pentecostal, 5.7% Anglican, 4.1% S eventh-day Adventist, 3.0% Presbyterian or
Congregational, 1.2% Baptist and 0.1% Methodist), 21.5% was Roman Catholic, 14.1%
was Hindu and 8% were Muslim. A small number of individuals subscribed to traditional
Caribbean religions with African roots, such as the Spiritual Baptists (sometimes called
Shouter Baptists) (5.7%); and the Orisha (0.1%). The smaller groups were Jehovah’s
Witnesses (1.5%) and unaffiliated (2.2%).
3 There are of course denominational schools at these levels as well.
© The Author(s) 2020 15

J. H. Stephenson et al., Diversity, Equality,
and Inclusion in Caribbean Organisations and Society,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47614-4_2
what the data seems to suggest is that ethnic considerations have led to
polarisation at the political sphere and during the period 1962–1992 was
also visible at the upper echelons of the public sector.4 During the period
1992–2015, therefore, based on allegations of discrimination by groups,
a number of mechanisms to allow for appeal and investigation was intro-
duced via various Acts of Parliament. The extent to which these mecha-
nisms allowed for greater inclusion will be accordingly examined.
Trinidad and Tobago is just one of a number of countries in the
Commonwealth Caribbean which has been classified, because of eth-
nic variations among groups in these societies, as plural societies. While
M. G. Smith (1965)5 and R. T. Smith (1971)6 focused on Jamaica and
Burma and Java, respectively, later on theorist such as Despres (1964)7
and La Guerre (1974)8 expanded the discussion to include countries
such as Suriname, Guyana and Trinidad in which two groups, namely
Africans and East Indians were numerically represented. Indeed, the
description of Furnivall’s medley of ethnic groups which he met in
Burma and Java, was also applicable in the context of these ex-colonial
countries as well. R. T. Smith noted (in the case of Burma and Java):
…. They mix but they do not combine. Each group holds its own religion, its
own culture and language, its own ideas and ways. As individuals they meet,
but only in the market place, in buying and selling.9
4 Centre for Ethnic Studies. 1992. Ethnicity and employment practices in Trinidad
and Tobago. Centre for Ethnic Studies: The University of the West Indies, St Augustine,
Trinidad. In this report, the data revealed that the top positions in the public sector was
mainly held by persons of African descent. After this report, further data re ethnic groups
employed in the public sector have been forthcoming.
5 Michael Garfield Smith. 1965. The plural society in the British West Indies. Berkeley:
University of California Press.

6 Raymond T. Smith. 1971. “Race and political conflict in Guyana.” Race and Class,
Vol. 12, No. 4: 415–427.

7 Leo Despres. 1964 October. “The implications of nationalist politics in British Guiana
for the development of cultural theory.” American Anthropologist, Vol. 66, No. 5:
1051–1077.
8 John Gaffar La Guerre. 1974. Calcutta to Caroni: The East Indians of Trinidad. School
of Continuing Studies, Trinidad and Tobago, St Augustine.

9 R. T. Smith (1971, p. 415).
2 RACE RELATIONS IN THE CARIBBEAN … 17
To these theorists, the plural society was therefore an unstable society

in which ethnic conflicts could erupt. Indeed, it should be recalled that
ethnic conflicts are frequent occurrences in the developed as well as the
developing countries. Regions such as Afghanistan, Angola, Armenia,
India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Bangladesh, Belgium, Northern
Ireland and Rwanda have all been the focus of media attention because
the breadth and depth of the ethnic conflicts that have occurred in these
countries. Even in the more advanced countries such as the USA, the
UK and Canada, however, it is found that increasing ethnic conflicts are
replacing what was formerly classified as class struggles.
Because of the nature and depths of ethnic conflicts which have
emerged, policymakers have increasingly sought mechanisms to allay
such conflicts and a number of techniques have been introduced.
These include ethnic reconciliation, ethnic separation and ethnic
re-engineering. While these mechanisms were introduced to aid with a
broader assimilation process or the attempt to encourage nationalism,
it was understood that while government had power to redistribute
resources, as well as to re-stratify a society, politics involves a complex
interaction between groups, institutions, ideologies and values. One of
the more critical institutions in this interaction, of course, was the public
sector. Accordingly, given the importance of this institution, a number
of administrative “solutions” were also required as well. These included
the use of quota systems and affirmative action programmes to allow for
a more “representative” bureaucracy. This paper will accordingly focus
on the mechanisms to allow for inclusiveness of the various groups in the
public sector of a small island state, Trinidad and Tobago. It will attempt
to evaluate these mechanisms.
Summary Overview of the Theory of Representative

Bureaucracy
The concept of a more representative-type bureaucracy, it should
be noted, is an old debate commencing with the work of Donald
Kingsley (1944).10 He suggested that civil service should be repre-
sented according to economic class, region and religion. Later theorists
10 Donald Kingsley. 1944. Representative bureaucracy. Yellow Springs, OH: Antioch
Press.
elaborated on this concept (Van Riper 1958; Kelsall 1955; Long 1952;
Subramaniam 1967; Dauda 1990).11 Essentially the concept of a more
representative-type of bureaucracy suggests that if a public service mir-

rors the social demographics of the entire population it would lead as
Agyapong (2018)12 observed to active representation where bureau-
crats press the interest of groups with whom they share similar identi
ties. The fundamental assumption was that individuals who shared
similar social origins or demographics would also share similar sociali-
sation experiences. These experiences could then lead to the formation
of similar values/attitudes that could influence bureaucratic behaviour.
As Evans (1974)13 had to point out, however, the arguments concern-
ing representation were best viewed as arguments which related to
purpose, function and effectiveness of the representative body, not the
composition.
Yet, even in its early initiation, it was clear that Kingsley’s (1944)
argument for representation did not translate into a representation in
the bureaucracy of the wider groups of the society. Rather he asserted
that if an administration is to be responsive to changes in the political
climate, it must represent the dominant class in the society. He argued
that a bureaucracy may be “responsible” when it broadly reflects society
but that it is “representative” when leaders of the governing party and
senior bureaucrats share similar backgrounds and values (Kingsley 1944,
p. 185). According to Kim (1994),14 Kingsley’s emphasis was on the
11 P. Van Riper. 1958. History of the United States Civil Service. Evanston, IL: Row
Peterson. R. K. Kelsall. 1955. Higher Civil servants in Britain. London: Routledge and
Keagan Paul. N. E. Long. 1958. “Implementing equal opportunities in the 1980s: An
overview” Public Administration, Vol. 67: 7–18. V. Subramaniam. 1967. “Representative
bureaucracy: A reassessment.” The American Political Science Review, Vol. LXI, No.
4: 1010–1019. Bhola Dauda. 1990. “Fallacies and dilemmas: The theory of representa-
tive bureaucracy with a particular reference to the Nigerian Public Service 1950–1986.”
International Review of Administrative Sciences, Vol. 56: 467–495.
12 Elijah Agyapong. 2018. Critical assessment of representative bureaucracy: Toward a more
expanded theory. https://patimes.org/a-critical-assessment-of-representative-bureaucracy-

toward-a-more-expanded-theory/.
13 Defining Representative Bureaucracy Author(s): James W. Evans Source: Public
Administration Review, Vol. 34, No. 6 (November–December, 1974), pp. 628–631.

Published by: Wiley on behalf of the American Society for Public Administration Stable
URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/974367. Accessed: 21 March 2019, 14:27 UTC.
14 Pan S. Kim. 1994. “A theoretical overview of representative bureaucracy: Synthesis.”
International Review of Administrative Sciences, Vol. 60: 385–397, 386.

representation of dominant upper middle-class of British society rather

than of the society as a whole. In other words, Kingsley’s argument was
not that the public bureaucracy should be a microcosm of the wider
society but rather that the bureaucracy would reflect the “ideals” and
translate those into policy that would be beneficial for the nation’s elites.
The concept of “representation” was further expanded by Long in
1952.15 Contrary to Kingley’s argument, Long (1952), in the case of the
USA felt that the federal bureaucracy was more diverse demographically
and therefore was more representative of the people. This was further
supported by Van Riper (1958).16 He contended that a “genuinely” rep-
resentative bureaucracy must be:
i. A reasonable cross-section of the body politic in terms of occupa-

tion, class, geography and the like;
ii. Be in tune to the ethos and attitudes of the society of which it is
a part (Van Riper 1958, p. 552). According to Van Riper, a rep-
resentative bureaucracy was one in which there was a minimal
distinction between the bureaucracy as a group and their admin-
istrative behaviour on the one hand and the community or societal
membership and its administrative behaviour of government on the
other (Kim, p. 386).
Following on this, Mosher (1968),17 deepened the argument sug-

gesting that bureaucratic decisions are influenced by the orientations
and values of administrators. In turn, the values held by the administra-
tor are, in turn, determined by his or her social background, training,
education and current associations. He noted:
A public service and more specifically the leadership personnel of a public ser-
vice which is broadly representative of all categories of the population in these
respects, may be thought of as satisfying Lincoln’s prescription of government
‘by the people’ in the limited sense. (Mosher 1968, pp. 12–13)
15 Norton Long, 1952. “Bureaucracy and constitutionalism.” American Political Science
Review, Vol. 46: 808–818.

16 Paul P. Van Riper. 1958. History of the United States Civil Service. Evanston, IL: Row
Peterson.
17 Frederick C. Mosher. 1968. Democracy and the public service. New York: Oxford
University Press.
Emerging out of the analysis of the arguments for representative bureau-

cracy, Kim (1994) suggested that this could be summed up as a relation-
ship between passive and active approaches to representation. Essentially,
the passive approach is largely based on demography and its goal is a
bureaucracy that mirrors society as a whole with proportional numbers of
members from each economic class, region and ethnic group. On the other
hand, the active approach places emphasis on legislation or policy on behalf
of social groups regardless of the backgrounds of individual civil servants.
In many countries around the world the challenge to introduce
greater representation of groups in the workplace have led to a number
of introductions, which to a large extent seem to lean on the “active”
approach to representation. These mechanisms range from affirmative
action policies or the establishment of quota systems. In some countries,
also, legal measures were introduced such as instruments allowing for
the establishment of an Equal Opportunity Commission and an Equal
Opportunity Tribunal.
In the case of Trinidad and Tobago, the latter mechanism was intro-
duced. The discussion which follows will accordingly present a historical
overview of the challenges of ethnic under-representation in the public
sector of the twin-island republic and later discuss as well as assess the
mechanisms which were introduced to allow for equal distribution of
groups in this sector.
Addressing Ethnic Imbalances in the Public Sector

of Trinidad and Tobago and the Search
for Mechanisms
Trinidad and Tobago is a small country with a population of approxi-

mately 1.3 million persons. The two majority groups within the coun-
try are descendants of East Indian indentured labourers who were
brought from India and an African descended population whose
forbears were slaves who were imported to work on the plantations.
It has been contended that the seeds of discord among the two eth-
nic groups were partly sown by the British, who with their politics of
divide and rule, pitted these groups against each other (Hitzen 199418;
18 Percy Hitzen. 1994. “The colonial foundations of race relations and Ethno-politics in
Guyana.” Guyana History Gazzette, No. 65.

Brown 199919). In addition, factors including the historically developed

complex of rules, routines and institutional arrangements were also influ-
ential in creating what over time became a “clash of culture” among the
two majority groups. The East Indians who were an essentially agrarian
group settled in the rural areas while the Africans who were skilled and
semi-skilled professionals settled in the urban areas. Apart from the occu-
pational and settlement patterns, however, there were also major cultural
differences between the two groups.
While under British rule, there was a measure of distrust among
these groups, yet this was contained since the “enemy” to be feared and
respected was the largely white British elite. However, as the colonies
prepared for independence in the 1960s, the animosity between the two
groups increased. As Despres (1967)20 and Ryan (1972)21 suggested,
political mobilisation for electoral purposes appealed to the primordial
instincts of both groups. Partly, too, it can be argued, the spoils of the
country such as housing, resources and other opportunities could be dis-
tributed to the membership of the group that attained political power.
Thus, understandably, political rivalry between the two groups was
intense and as Brown (1999, p. 6) appropriately described it, became
decisively rooted in ethnic cleavages. Prior to the General Elections of
1962, then, there were a number of outbreaks of ethnic violence as the
two majority groups fought for the control of the state. La Guerre’s
(1993, p. 18)22 interpretation of this situation was that along with race
relations, there was also a challenge with respect to the dominance of
one group and unequal incorporation of the other.
What emerged as a run-up to the 1961 elections in Trinidad and
Tobago was that while a number of splintered groups and individuals
contested the General Elections yet the two major protagonists were the
19 Derek Brown. 1999. Ethnic politics and public sector management in Trinidad and
Guyana. Paper delivered at Sheffield University Seminar on the Caribbean. Sheffield, 9

March 1999.
20 Leo Despres. 1967. Cultural pluralism and nationalist policies in British Guiana.
Chicago, IL: Rand McNally.

21 Selwyn Ryan. 1972. Race and nationalism in Trinidad and Tobago. Toronto, ON:
Toronto University Press.

22 John Gaffar La Guerre. 1993. “A review of race and class in the Caribbean.” In Race,
class and gender in the future of the Caribbean, edited by J. E. Greene. Kingston, Jamaica:
ISER.
Democratic Labour Party (DLP) (which drew its rank and file from the
East Indian group) and the People’s National Party (PNM) which was
African-based. In the General Elections of 1961, the PNM won twenty
seats with a total vote of fifty-seven per cent of the votes compared
with its primary opposition, the DLP which won ten seats with a total
of forty-one per cent of the votes cast. What was clearly indicative of
this and the pattern of the other elections which were to follow was the
geographical spread of the two major ethnic groups which determined
the number of seats won by each ethnic party. While this spread was a
major influential factor, by itself, however, this does not fully explain
why the African-based PNM took control of government for more than
two decades (1962–1986). One factor according to Lewis (1962) was
the electioneering techniques employed by the PNM as opposed to the
ad hoc and aggressive manner in which the DLP conducted their cam-
paigns. Lewis (1962) wrote:
…The DLP, by contrast, although technically a party, was, in behavior, noth-

ing much more than an assorted group of old-style political individualists.
One of the most telling of PNM campaign bulletins consisted of a damning
collection of quotations, both within the Legislative Council and outside, in
which DLP members laid bare their uncomplimentary opinions of each other
in a vein of gross scurrility; Mr. Simboonath Capildeo’s charge that his col-
leagues a vein of gross scurrility; Mr. Simboonath Capildeo’s charge that his
colleagues Mr. Maharaj and Mr. Seukeran were seeking to “divide people
against people, race against race, and with the evil, malignant, wicked, sin-
ful, vile, despicable and nefarious news mongering they are trying to divide
brother against brother” was typical. As a party, again, the group had little of
the respect for the public that a genuine party should surely possess, and not the
least fantastic aspect of a generally fantastic election was the fact that, using
violence as a pretext, its candidates refused to hold a single public meeting for
the last three weeks of the campaign.23
23 The Trinidad and Tobago General Election of 1961 Author(s): Gordon K. Lewis
Source: Caribbean Studies, Vol. 2, No. 2 (July 1962): 2–30, Published by: Institute of
Caribbean Studies, UPR, Rio Piedras Campus Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/
25611702. Accessed: 27 March 2019, 20:25 UTC: 16.
He noted:
…the public utterances of Dr. Capildeo, unlike those of the Premier, consti-
tuted an open and reckless incitement to civil disorder. There could be no other
construction put on his widely publicized invitation to his followers to “come
forward on election day and smash up a thousand voting machines” or to ‘get
ready now to march to Government House”; and of his threat that the ‘the day
we are ready we will take over this country and not a thing will stop us. “The
only remedy”, he told a private house meeting is “to adopt the South American
method of bloodshed and riot and revolution or civil disobedience until you
grind government operations to a full stop and you then get possession.” It is
small wonder that many of his colleagues became thoroughly alarmed at their
leader’s temperamental outbursts and that according to report, many of the
Indian pundits turned against him.
The end result though was that the PNM party continued in power
during the period 1962–1986. This trend was to have an impact on
the management of the state and of course the distribution of state
resources. Scholarships, awards and employment opportunities were also
found, afterwards, to be vehicles of patronage.
Ethnic Imbalances in the Public Sector 1962–1986

In Trinidad and Tobago, statistics revealed that the majority of senior
positions were held by Afro-Trinidadians. Criticisms emerged suggesting
that membership in the PNM provided a direct entry to key positions in
the public services and state-owned enterprises and also provided houses,
resources, as well as scholarships for supporters and their families. In the
case of neighbouring Guyana where a similar situation had emerged, many
of the policies of the state with respect to the appointment of persons in
the public sector and state enterprises were vehemently opposed by the
East Indian population leading to the establishment of a Commission
of Enquiry in 1965. In the case of Trinidad and Tobago, the claims
while not vociferous were nonetheless aired. For example, the Trinidad
Express Newspaper reported on 22 October 1970 that of the one hun-
dred employees of the Central Bank of Trinidad, eighty-four were Afro-
Trinidadians, ten were Indo-Trinidadians, three were of Chinese descent,
two were of Portuguese descent and one was of Caucasian descent.
This inequity was further highlighted in 1989 when the Trinidad

Express Newspaper published statistics on June 25th revealing that
of the total number of persons employed in all government organi-
sations, twenty-nine per cent were Indo-Trinidadians. In the Police
Force, the Regiment of the Defense Force, the Coast Guard and the
Port Authority, respectively, the percentage of Indo-Trinidadians was
twenty-five per cent, five per cent, sixteen per cent and six per cent,
respectively. It is also important to note that according to the census
data, Indo-Trinidadians at that time comprised 40.3% of the country’s
population while Afro-Trinidadians made up 39.6%.
The first attempt to initiate a commission to enquire into the eth-
nic composition of the public sector of Trinidad and Tobago went
unheeded. Indeed, in 1987, one of the seven commissioners appointed
to review the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago was
rebuffed when he proposed that an Equal Opportunity Commission be
established. His justification for the establishment of such an institution
was that certain Associations such as the African Association of Trinidad
and Tobago, the United National Congress, the President of the Bar
Association as well as organisations and individuals had been vociferous
in their call for such an institution. He argued, then, that to ignore the
demand is to fail to come to grips with the forces which stimulate such a
demand. He advised that grievances unless they were channeled, investi-
gated and dealt with were likely to explode in diffuse directions as hap-
pened in 1970.
He further explained:
…One might contend that the existing Constitution already provides pro-
tection against discrimination on the grounds of sex or race, or that an
Ombudsman exists to investigate all cases of maladministration. The truth
is, however, that constitutional motions are beyond the reach of those ordinary
means; whilst the Ombudsman is empowered to investigate only the public sec-
tor and is usually subject to a number of limitations.24
By 1992, though, it was felt that given the claims of ethnic imbalances
some form of action should be taken. Accordingly, in 1992, a Centre
24 Report of the Constitution Commission of Trinidad and Tobago. 1987. Presented to
his Excellency, the President on 1st June 1990. Reservation by John Gaffar La Guerre,
286.
for Ethnic Studies was established at the University of the West Indies,
St Augustine Campus by the Government of the Republic of Trinidad
and Tobago. The mandate of the Centre was to provide statistical data
with respect to the ethnic composition of both the private as well as the
public sector as well as to interrogate those persons who were awarded
scholarships by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.
To a large extent, claims of ethnic imbalances in senior positions in
the public sector were confirmed by the reports from the Centre of
Ethnic Studies (see Tables 2.1 and 2.2).
By contrast as, as Table 2.3 in the professional fields such as medicine
and finance Indo-Trinidadians reached and surpassed the equity ratio.
In the latter category, it should be noted that the criteria for employ-
ment and advancement was clearly based on qualifications and technical
skills.
Table 2.1 Distribution of posts by race (%; 1970–1992)
Year Range 60+ Range 46–59 Range 35–45 Under 35
East Other East Other East Other East Other

Indian Indian Indian Indian
1970 20.7 79.3 25.6 74.4 33.5 66.5 25.1 74.9

1980 27.1 72.9 28.9 71.1 5.8 74.2 35.6 64.4
1992 35.6 64.4 41.3 58.7 37.0 63.0 41.0 59.0
Source Ethnicity and Employment Practices in Trinidad and Tobago: 1994. Centre for Ethnic Studies,
St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago: 93
Table 2.2 Racial representation in senior administrative positions (%; 1992)
Classification Non-Indo Trinidadians Indo-Trinidadians
Administrative Officer V 87.5 12.5

Administrative Officer 1 V 90.5 9.5
Administrative Officer 11 70.6 29.4
Note Ethnicity and Employment Practices: 98

Table 2.3 Racial representation in selected professional positions (%; 1992)
Post Non-Indo Trinidadians Indo-Trinidadians
Doctors 45.2 54.8

Engineers 56.3 43.7
Research and planning officers (Public 74.8 25.2
sector)
Note Ethnicity and Employment Practices: 98

Offering Explanations for Ethnic Imbalances

in the Public Sector 1962–1992
No doubt a number of arguments may be offered to explain the

disproportion in numbers between the two major groups in the pub-
lic sector during the period 1962–1992. One major explanation was
the way the two groups were assimilated in the core sectors of the soci-
ety. For instance, it was found that the African—descended population
applied and were accepted for positions into the public sector while the
Indo-descended population remained in the agricultural sector or sent
their children into educational streams such as medicine, engineering or
accounting. While this explanation addressed the issue of imbalances in
certain sectors including the public sector, it did not, however, explain
other types of imbalances that emerged. The Centre for Ethnic Studies
noted, for instance, that from their research, East Indian applicants were
often bypassed for scholarship opportunities. There were other claims
of state resources, for example, the paving of roadways, the erection
of community centres, being more pronounced in constituencies that
demonstrated strong support for a ruling party. Following up on con-
tinuing allegations of inequity, on the 20th October 2011, the incoming
Attorney General of the country (representing an Indo-majority gov-
ernment) had this to say on the issue and referred to the Report of the
Centre for Ethnic Studies:
…The findings of the Commission raise a prima facie case of political and
racial discrimination. The mysterious, secretive process used to grant assis-
tance facilitated this unjustifiable discrimination. The lack of transparency
and integrity in the distribution of public funds is a cause for grave concern.
Such an inequitable and biased distribution of State resources contravenes

the spirit and letter of the constitutional right to equality of treatment……
there can be no greater injury to the public interest than the conceptualization
and execution of a scheme designed to use state funds so as to bestow politi-
cal patronage and then to seek to cover up this elaborate scheme of misleading
both the commission and the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago.25
The conclusion was, therefore, that even as late as 2010 certain

sectors of the population had not been accorded equal opportunity.
The perception of the East Indian group was, understandably, because
the African government, the People’s National Movement remain in
power from 1956 to 1986; 1991–1995 and then from 2001 to 2010 the
resources of the state as it related to employment opportunities, scholar-
ships, housing and allocation of funds had been dispersed to the support-
ers of that party.
Evaluating the Mechanisms to All for Equal

Opportunity of Ethnic Groups in Trinidad and Tobago
A number of mechanisms were and more recently has been established in
the twin-island state to allow for equal representation in the public sector
as well as the wider society. These included:
• The Public Service Commissions;

• The Public Service Appeal Board/Appellate Tribunal;
• The Office of the Ombudsman;
• Public Service Unions;
• Judicial Review;
• The Establishment of an Equal Opportunity Commission (2000);
• The Freedom of Information (2000).
It has been suggested, however, that even the introduction of these

mechanisms has done little to minimise unequal treatment particularly
when a new government assumes power. An examination and some
assessment of these mechanisms/instruments will accordingly follow.
25 The Trinidad Express Newspaper: The AG Comments on the Findings of the EOC. 20
October 2011, p. 2.
The Public Service Commissions

The Public Service Commission was established in 1950 by Order of
Council and was closely modelled along the institution that had been
established in Britain in 1855. According to one academic, Collin (1967)
the initial justification for establishing the Commissions in ex-colonial
territories included:
• It was felt by the departing colonials that political independence for

the colonies would prove dangerous for the integrity of the public
services. Hence the need to introduce measures that protected the
public servants from political interference.
• Service Commissions were necessary in order to maintain public
service neutrality.26
When Trinidad and Tobago attained independent status in 1962, the

Public Service Commission became an executive agency and was vested
with a number of powers. The powers included the capacity to make
appointments, promotions, acting appointments, discipline and transfer
staff throughout the public service. They were also vested with the author-
ity to regulate their own procedures and they promulgated regulations
with setting out the principles and guidelines to be followed in making
appointments, promotions, transfers and the exercise of disciplinary proce-
dures. The various Chairmen of the Commissions claimed that inherent in
these regulations were considerations of equality, fairness and justice.
However, the Commissions were subject to a number of criticisms.
It was contended, for instance, that the selection method of using com-
petitive interviews employed by the Service Commissions was biased
against Indo-Trinidadians as well as women. According to the report by
the Centre for Ethnic Studies (1992) the bias appeared to have existed
in the composition of the interviewing panel which primarily comprised
Afro-Trinidadian males. The report suggested that even if the greatest
objectivity was maintained, the impression may have been given, and
unsuccessful Indo-Trinidadian would claim that they were victims of
racial discrimination.27
26 B. A. N. Collins. 1967. “Some notes on the public service commissions in the
Commonwealth Caribbean.” Social and Economic Studies, Vol. 16, No. 1: 1–16.
27 Centre for Ethnic Studies. 1992. Ethnicity and employment practices in Trinidad and
Tobago. The University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad, p. 8.

Other criticisms levelled against the Commissions were that of inef-

ficiency and of placing “square pegs in round holes”. The system of
appointment and promotion based on the criterion of seniority also
ensured that the status quo was maintained. Indeed, it has been sug-
gested by many that what the policy of maintaining the status quo might
have done was to reinforce what is referred to as “institutional rac-
ism”. The phenomenon of institutional racism occurs where the insti-
tutions themselves become imbued with prejudices, conventions, biases
and world views which inform their visions of groups and what group
relations should be. In other words, the practice of discrimination may
be reinforced by the processes and procedures of the institutions. By
maintaining the principle of seniority of service, therefore, the Various
Commissions ensured that the groups who first entered the public ser-
vices would attain the top-level positions irrespective of their ability to
lead or their capacity to function at the higher level.
More recently, however, the Commissions have introduced other
mechanisms to allow for a wider pool of candidates to different posi-
tions including interviews, examinations and interviews and advertise-
ment of the positions. As early as 1990, also, there was a move by the
Commission to introduce contract positions.
The Public Service Appeal Board

This Board, it has been suggested, also became a “creature” which
promoted “institutional racism”. Matters coming to this Board were
constrained to appeals relating specifically to disciplinary matters for-
warded to it by the Public Service Commission. In essence it was an
ineffective mechanism to ensure that equality reselection of groups was
in place.
The Effectiveness of Unions

The unions representing workers have also been criticised on a number
of fronts. It is alleged, for instance, that the unions representing workers
are vociferous only during wage bargaining and matters of discrimina-
tion or unequal treatments are not given priority. In their defense, these
unions claim that while sometimes they do investigate the matters,
the final decisions are taken by the various service commissions. They
argue, though, that many matters are forwarded to the Ministry of
Labour or the Industrial Court and the costs of expenses are defrayed
by them. While this is true, some may argue that in a plural society such
as Trinidad and Tobago, it is surprising that during the period 1962–
2010, these unions had not submitted one case of ethnic discrimination.
One may therefore question if incidents of ethnic discrimination exist or
whether the unions are merely reluctant to address such claims.
Brown (1999) asserted that the Public Services Association the Union
was representing, public servants avoided issues pertaining to race and
ethnicity preferring inaction to taking sides. Yet, in the case of Trinidad
and Tobago, that was not quite true. In 1999, the Public Services
Association was quite vociferous in their allegations of racial discrimina-
tion. Their claim was that Indo-Trinidadians were getting top positions
at the airport authority (this was because an Indo-based party was in
power during this period and there were claims that top-level positions
were allocated to supporters of this party). While it may be argued that
this may have been an effort by the Union to maintain equity, counter to
this may very well be the question, why, when the shoe is on the other foot,
similar claims were not made by the union which comprised mainly of
Afro-Trinidadians.
The Office of the Ombudsman

A major institution that has been described by a number of writers as a
toothless bulldog28 has been the office of the Ombudsman. This institu-
tion, as elsewhere, has as its major aim the undertaking to address claims
of maladministration and discrimination. Yet, investigations by these
institutions have been stymied by a number of challenges including:
• Limited resources;
• Inadequacy of record-keeping by ministries and departments;
• The lack of authority to impose sanctions against ministries/
departments.
28 Haller W. (2010). The place of the Ombudsman in the world community, Fourth
International Ombudsman Conference Papers, Canberra, Canadian Federal Corrections

15(5), 15–24; L. Ademolekun and E. L. Ogunkule. 1985. Nigeria’s Ombudsman system:
Five years of the public complaints. Ibadan: Heineman.
However, a far more critical consideration has been the limitations

imposed upon this office by the existing Constitution. Section 93 of the
Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago circumscribes the jurisdiction of
the ombudsman limiting his investigations to decisions and recommen-
dations made or acts done or omitted by government departments and
authorities in the exercise of administrative functions. Also in the Third
Schedule to the Constitution, some matters are not subject to investiga-
tion, namely the conduct of civil or criminal proceedings in any court,
action taken relating to contractual or other commercial transactions
and actions taken in respect of appointments or removals, pay, discipline,
superannuation or personal matters. Yet, as the Ombudsman in 1998
report pointed out, the bulk of the complaints were from public officers
and employees of statutory and local authorities alleging discrimination
in employment practices such as preferment of acting appointments
and promotions, which, it was alleged, contravened the Public Service
Regulations and departmental policies and procedures. These were the
procedures from which the Ombudsman and his office were constitu-
tionally debarred from investigating. Table 2.4 consists of excerpts taken
from the Fortieth Annual Report of the Ombudsman for the period
January 2017–December 2017.
Table 2.4 Complaints received by the office of the Ombudsman (2017)
Number Percentage
Total number of complaints brought forward from previous 1516

years
Total number of complaints received in 2017 957
TOTAL 2473 100
Less total number of complaints without jurisdiction (82) 33
Less enquiries and feedback (362) 14.6
Less total of freedom of information Act matters (13) 0.5
Total number of complaints pursued 2016 81.5
Total number of complaints concluded (804) 39.9
Complaints sustained 400 19.8
Complaints not sustained 29 1.5
Complaints withdrawn 295 14.6
Complaints advised 76 3.8
Complaints with no jurisdiction 4 0.2
Total number of complaints under investigation as at 31 1212 60.1
December 2017
Source Report of the Ombudsman, 2017, Office of the Ombudsman, Trinidad and Tobago (A compilation)
Table 2.4 illustrated the total number of cases brought forward to

2017 together with new complaints received in the same year. It can be
seen that a total of one thousand, two hundred and twelve cases (1212)
or 60.1% were under investigation as of 31 December 2017.
It should be noted, though, that these cases did not involve any com-
plaints of injustice as a result of discrimination. Even with its limited
mandate, however, lack of resources continue to stymie the effectiveness
of this Office and the challenges facing the Ombudsman continues as
outlined in the 2017 report. The challenges cited include:
i. The lack of action by Parliament in dealing with both Annual

Reports and Special Reports. According to the Office of the
Ombudsman this leads to the non-implementation of recommen-
dations made by the Ombudsman in those Reports;
ii. The tendency of Government Departments and State Agencies to
respond to Ombudsman matters and recommendations in a lack-
adaisical and untimely manner. The report from the Ombudsman
suggested that departments and agencies had taken the cue from
the perceived inaction and behaviour of Parliament in dealing with
Annual Reports and Special Reports; and
iii. The denied opportunity for financial autonomy. The Report of
the Ombudsman noted that this Office required approval from
Parliament (the line Organisation), where financial matters were
concerned. Consequently, this stifled various activities which the
Office desired to undertake. The Report concluded:
However, in light of the present economic climate, it is unlikely that the

Office will be given full control of its budget29
No doubt the latter remarks from this report speak volumes about the
limitations of the Office of the Ombudsman.
Judicial Review
Prior to the year 2000, public officers were unable to seek judicial review
on matters deliberated by the Service Commissions. However, with
29 Ombudsman 40th Annual Report (2017), Office of the Ombudsman, Trinidad and
Tobago.
the introduction of a new government, by Act 60 of 2000, the Judicial

Review Act Chapter 7:08 was introduced. The Act accordingly estab-
lished the following Judicial Review Procedure as follows:
(1) An application for judicial review of a decision of an inferior Court,

tribunal, public body, public authority or a person acting in the exercise of
a public duty or function in accordance with any law shall be made to the
Court in accordance with this Act and in such manner as may be prescribed
by Rules of Court.
(2) The Court may, on an application for judicial Review, grant relief in
accordance with this Act—
(a) To a person whose interests are adversely affected by a decision; or
(b) To a person or a group of persons if the Court is satisfied that the appli-
cation is justifiable in the public interest in the circumstances of the case.
(3) The grounds upon which the Court may grant relief to a person who filed
an application for judicial review includes the following:
(a) That the decision was in any way unauthorised or contrary to law;
(b) Excess of jurisdiction;
(c) Failure to satisfy or observe conditions or procedures required by law;
(d) Breach of the principles of natural justice;
(e) Unreasonable, irregular or improper exercise of discretion;
(f) Abuse of power;
(g) Fraud, bad faith, improper purpose or irrelevant consideration;
(h) Acting on instructions from an unauthorised person;
(i) Conflict with the policy of an Act;
(j) Error of law, whether or not apparent on the face of the record;
(k) Absence of evidence on which a finding or assumption of fact could rea-
sonably be based;
(l) Breach of or omission to perform a duty;
(m) Deprivation of a legitimate expectation;
(n) A defect in form or a technical irregularity resulting in a substantial
wrong or miscarriage of justice; or
(o) An exercise of a power in a manner that is so unreasonable that no
reasonable person could have so exercised the power.
(4) An applicant is not limited to the grounds set out in the application for
judicial review but if the applicant wishes to rely on any other ground not so
set out, the Court may, on such terms as it thinks fit, direct that the applica-
tion be amended to specify such other ground.
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"You did not take it?" the governess interposed hastily.
"Oh, no!" A painful blush rose to Margaret's cheeks as she remembered that her mother
had not declined the same offer. "Mrs. Lute said total abstinence from all intoxicants is the
only thing for some people," she added.
"She is quite right," was the grave response.
There was silence for a few minutes. Miss Conway was asking herself what was the reason
of her pupil's evident confusion, and Margaret was hoping she would not be questioned as
to its cause.
"I have been a teetotaler all my life," Miss Conway proceeded presently. "My father had a
great horror of drink because his own father had been a drunkard, and he had suffered
much on that account. It is sad to think that there is scarcely a family that does not
possess at least one member given over to the vice of drinking to excess. Oh, Margaret!
Mr. Fowler was right when he laid down the rule that no intoxicants should be brought into
his house."
"I am sure he was right," Margaret agreed heartily, "though everyone does not think so.
Mother calls it a fad—"
"Did your mother—" The governess hesitated momentarily, scarcely knowing how to put
the question which trembled on her lips. "Perhaps you will think I have no right to ask
you," she continued hastily, "but, believe me, Margaret, it is no idle curiosity which
prompts me. Did your mother have any wine at Mrs. Lute's yesterday?"
Margaret nodded gravely, observing her companion anxiously in order to read by her
countenance what she thought. She was prepared to see her exhibit surprise, and perhaps
disapproval, but Miss Conway appeared absolutely frightened, and her very lips turned
white. She made no remark in response however, but when she kissed her pupil ere they
separated for the night, there was marked tenderness in her manner and in her voice as
she said, "God bless you, dear Margaret. You look tired out yourself. Try to have a good
night's rest."
The little girl was very sleepy, so, almost as soon as her head was on the pillow, she was in
the land of dreams. But such unhappy, disturbing dreams they were. She imagined her
mother was very ill, and that her father could not be sent for, because no one knew his
address, and that she was in terrible grief and perplexity. At length, frightened and shaking
in every limb, she awoke, and sprang out of bed with a shriek. The conviction was strong
upon her that something was wrong with her mother, and she felt compelled to go and
ascertain what was amiss. Lighting a candle, she took it up and hurried to Mrs. Fowler's
room. A sigh of deep thankfulness escaped her lips as she found everything quiet there.
Softly she stole to the bedside and saw her mother lying asleep, one hand beneath her
cheek, her fair hair strewn over the pillow. Margaret thought how pretty she looked, and
carefully shaded the candle with her hand as she gazed at the sleeper with love and
admiration in her glance; but it would have taken more than the feeble rays of the candle
to awaken Mrs. Fowler from that deep, dreamless sleep.
Margaret would have liked to have kissed her mother's flushed cheek, but feared to disturb
her; so she contented herself with pressing her lips to the soft, white hand which lay
outside the counterpane, then stole back to her own room as quietly as she had left it, and
after putting out the candle crept back to bed. She felt she could rest with an easy mind
now, and was no longer disturbed by distressing dreams.
The following day Mrs. Fowler did not go far. She appeared depressed and out of sorts until
after tea-time, when her drooping spirits revived, and she spent the evening under the
lilac tree with Miss Conway, whilst the children played croquet on the lawn. Suddenly she
remembered that a letter she had written to her husband had not been posted, and
suggested that Margaret and Gerald might take it to the post-office.
"I'm afraid it's too late to catch to-night's post," she said regretfully, "but never mind. Your
father will not be anxious, as he heard this morning. Still, you may as well post it. Dear
me, what could have made me so forgetful!"
So Margaret and Gerald hurried off to the post-office, which was only two doors from the
village inn, from which it was divided by Samuel Moyle's shop.
After posting the letter, they went into the shop to purchase some sweets, and whilst they
were there, Josiah Petherick came out of the "Crab and Cockle," much the worse for drink,
and staggered past on his way home.
Mrs. Moyle, a rosy-cheeked dame, so stout that she appeared to be almost as thick as she
was long, went to the door to stare after Josiah, whilst her husband, who was attending to
the requirements of his customers, shook his head gravely and prophesied that "such a
drunken beast," as he called him, "would come to a bad end," adding, with a touch of real
feeling, "Ah, I'm sorry for that poor motherless maid of his!"
Margaret returned to Greystone very sad at heart, full of the lame girl's trouble, and
informed her mother and Miss Conway of the state Josiah was in; whilst Gerald, who had
been more amused than disgusted, began to imitate the drunken man's rambling walk, a
proceeding which his governess promptly put a stop to by grasping him forcibly by the
shoulder and making him stand still.
"For shame!" she cried with unusual severity in her tone. "How can you make fun of the
unhappy man? Poor wretch! Never make a joke of a drunkard again."
"Well, I won't," Gerald returned. "I meant no harm. Please let me go, Miss Conway. I
promise you I won't do it again."
"No, I do not think you meant any harm," the governess admitted. "You acted
thoughtlessly, I know. But you must never laugh at what is wrong—remember that."
"Isn't it terrible for poor Salome, mother?" Margaret said sadly.
"Very," Mrs. Fowler replied. "It would be better for her if she had no father at all."
"Oh, mother!" Margaret cried in shocked tones. "Do you mean that?"
"Yes, I do. What can her father be, but a perpetual shame and trouble to her?"
"But she loves him so dearly."
"I don't know how she can!" Mrs. Fowler exclaimed vehemently. "But, there, don't let us
talk of Josiah any more. Of course, the letter was too late for to-night's post?"
"Oh, yes. But I posted it all the same. I wonder when father will be home."
"Not till the end of the week, I expect. It's getting chilly; we will go in." And rising, Mrs.
Fowler moved towards the house, the others following.
Margaret's thoughts were all of Salome during the remainder of the evening. And before
she went to rest, she prayed earnestly that God would give His help and protection to the
lame girl, and reward her patience and love in His own good time.
"Drink is an awful thing," was her last waking thought that night, as she crept into her
little, white-curtained bed, and laid her head down on the soft pillow. "I only wish poor
Salome's father could be brought to see what an awful thing it is."
CHAPTER IX.
The Blow Falls.
IT was nearly noon, and quietude reigned over Yelton. The fishermen were all at sea,
whilst their wives were busy with their domestic duties within doors, and the children were
at school. The village looked actually deserted as Margaret Fowler walked soberly by the
"Crab and Cockle." Not a living soul was in sight, and there was no one in Silas Moyle's
shop, not even behind the counter, where Mrs. Moyle was generally to be found. Margaret
strolled on to Josiah Petherick's cottage, and there was Salome seated in the porch,
knitting rapidly whilst she sang to herself in a low, soft undertone. The lame girl's face lit
up with a bright smile of pleasure at sight of Margaret, and she turned to reach the
crutches by her side.
"Oh, please don't get up!" Margaret cried quickly. "I'll sit down in the porch with you for a
little while, if I may. How nice it is here!"
"Yes. Isn't it a beautiful day, miss? Such a fine breeze! All the fishing boats are out. Father
was off at daybreak this morning. I got up to give him his breakfast; so that's how it is my
work's finished so early."
"What are you making?" Margaret asked, noticing the thick, navy-blue fingering which
Salome was knitting.
"A jersey for father, miss. He'll want a new one against the winter."
"What! Do you mean to say you knit your father's jerseys? How clever of you!"
The lame girl smiled and blushed as she responded, "Mother taught me to knit when I was
a very little girl, but it was not until after her death that I learnt to make father's jerseys.
Mrs. Moyle taught me the way."
"Mrs. Moyle? The baker's wife, do you mean?"
"Yes, miss; she's always most kind to me."
"She looks good-natured," Margaret remarked. "Mother is not very well," she proceeded to
explain, "so she is lying in bed this morning, and Gerald is at his lessons with Miss Conway,
so I thought I would look you up, Salome."
"I am very glad to see you, miss. But I am sorry to hear Mrs. Fowler is ill."
"She is not ill exactly—at least, I hope not. She complained of a bad headache, so Ross
advised her to remain in bed and rest. It worries me if she's not well, now father's away."
"Then Mr. Fowler is not back yet, miss?"
"No. We expected him to stay away only a few days, but his business is keeping him longer
than he thought it would, so he will not be at home till next week. It is so dull without
him."
"I daresay it is, miss."
"Before he went, he told me he left mother in my charge, and that's why I'm so anxious
about her. You know, she was very, very ill before we came here. I never saw her for
weeks then, and—oh, it was a terrible time!"
"It must have been," Salome said sympathetically.
"How bright you look to-day!" Margaret exclaimed presently, after observing her
companion in silence for several minutes.
"I feel bright," the lame girl acknowledged with a smile, "for I know father'll come home
sober by-and-by, when the fishing boats return, and that's enough to make one happy."
"How brave you are, Salome!" And Margaret wondered if she had Salome's trouble,
whether she would ever be happy for a day or even an hour.
The other shook her head. She did not think she was brave at all, but she took the
sunshine of her life gratefully, and tried not to remember the hours of gloom.
"I wish I could knit," said Margaret, as she watched the lame girl's busy fingers.
"Why don't you learn, miss? Then you might knit your father's socks."
"Do you think I could?"
"Oh, yes, with a little practice. Would you—would you like me to teach you?" Salome asked
somewhat diffidently.
"Oh, I should be so much obliged to you if you would! Oh, thank you! I'll buy some wool
and knitting needles the very next time we drive to N—. But I'm afraid you'll find me a
very stupid pupil."
"I can't believe that, miss. Besides, knitting is quite easy—of course it takes time to learn
to knit fast. You can get knitting needles and wool at Mrs. Moyle's shop; she keeps a very
good supply."
"Does she? That's capital! Oh Salome, whatever has happened to that rose-bush by the
gate? Why, it's smashed off close to the ground! What a pity!"
"Yes," was the response, spoken in a low, pained tone.
"How did it happen?" Margaret asked concernedly, noticing the tears had sprung into her
companion's brown eyes.
"Father did it."
"Oh! Not on purpose?"

"No, no! He—he fell over it. He was sorry—afterwards; but I'm so grieved, because mother
planted that rose-bush herself not long before she died, and now it is quite ruined."
"Oh, I am sorry!" Margaret cried.
"It was an accident; but—but it wouldn't have happened, if he'd been sober. He's as upset
about it as I am now—he is indeed. He valued that rose-bush for mother's sake."
"Salome, why don't you try to persuade your father to take the pledge?" Margaret inquired
very seriously.
"I've tried heaps and heaps of times."
"And he won't?"
"No. Father says he hates teetotalers. I can't think he does really, though. Only, he likes
drink, and he won't give it up."
"It's very selfish of him. He ought to consider you. But, there, I won't run out against him,
for I know you're very fond of him. Perhaps, he'll be different some day."
"I pray every night that God will make him a sober man. He used to be so steady when
mother was living. Mr. Amyatt will tell you the same. It seems so dreadful that her death
should have changed him so. It was the trouble, I suppose, and having no one to speak to
at home but me that drove him to the 'Crab and Cockle' first along; then he grew to like
the drink, and now he can't bear the thought of going without it. Did you know Mr. Fowler
spoke to father about it, miss?"
"No; did he?"
"Yes, he did indeed. They had an argument, and I fancy from father's manner that he was
impressed by what Mr. Fowler said."
Long the little girls talked, until Margaret declared she really must go, or she would be late
for dinner. She hurried back to Greystone, to find that her mother was not up yet. On the
landing, at the top of the stairs, she met Ross, who had that minute come from Mrs.
Fowler's bedroom door.
"Is mother's head no better?" Margaret inquired concernedly.
"I'm afraid not," Ross answered. She looked somewhat perturbed, the little girl thought.
"I've not seen the mistress since breakfast-time, miss," she proceeded hurriedly, "for she
said she wished to be undisturbed, and now she has locked her door."
"Locked her door!" Margaret echoed in utter astonishment.
"Yes, and she won't open it, miss. I was going to ask Miss Conway what I should do—"
Not waiting to hear the conclusion of the sentence, Margaret ran to her mother's bedroom
door and tried to open it. The handle turned, but the door remained closed. She rapped
sharply with her knuckles and listened; then, receiving no answer, knocked again.
"Who there?"
It was her mother's voice that asked the question; but something in its tone fell
discordantly upon the ears of the listeners and did not lessen their uneasiness.
"It is I—Margaret. Let me in, mother dear."
"You can't come in; go away."
"But, mother, I want to know how you are. Is your head better?"
"Yes—no."
"Please let me in. Why have you locked the door?"
"I wish—to be alone."
At that moment Miss Conway appeared upon the scene. She turned white as death when
the situation was explained to her, and begged Margaret to go away, and let her try to
persuade Mrs. Fowler to unlock the door.
"No, no," cried the little girl. "Something must be amiss with mother, or she would never
act so strangely. Mother, mother, let me in," and she knocked at the door louder than
before.
There were sounds inside the room of some one moving about, then the door was opened,
and Mrs. Fowler, clad in a dressing-gown, with her hair streaming over her shoulders,
appeared in the doorway.
"What do you all want—coming here—disturbing me?" she questioned irritably; then she
lurched forward, and would have fallen on her face, if Miss Conway had not sprung to her
assistance and caught her.
"Oh, she has fainted!" Margaret cried, terribly frightened and distressed.
With the help of Ross, who was looking pale and scared, the governess succeeded in
dragging Mrs. Fowler across the room, and laying her upon the bed; and then turned to
her little pupil and told her to shut and lock the door. Wondering greatly, Margaret obeyed.
Returning to the bedside, she looked from one to the other of her companions in mingled
astonishment and reproach, for neither was making the least attempt to bring Mrs. Fowler
back to consciousness. The tears were streaming down Miss Conway's cheeks, and Ross
was murmuring—"I never guessed it. No, I never guessed it."
"Oh, can't you do anything?" Margaret cried distractedly. "Oh, she is very ill!" And she bent
over her mother, then suddenly drew back. Mrs. Fowler's cheeks were unusually flushed;
she was breathing heavily, and upon her lips hung the smell of spirit. Margaret experienced
a sensation as though an icy hand had gripped her heart. She looked inquiringly at Miss
Conway, who avoided her glance, then her eyes travelled slowly around the room. On the
dressing-table was a nearly empty brandy bottle, and by its side a glass.
With an exceedingly bitter cry, Margaret realised the truth. Her mother was not ill—that is,
not in the way she had supposed—but intoxicated. The blow had fallen, and everything
was now plain to her.
As in a dream, she heard Ross whispering to Miss Conway that she had never suspected
her mistress of this, that she had never had such a shock in her life before, and listened to
Miss Conway's answer that she herself would remain with Mrs. Fowler, and that the
servants must be told she was ill. Then, the governess put her arms around her pupil and
kissed her, begging her to be a brave girl. And all the while, Margaret was experiencing a
strange feeling of unreality, as though she was living through a horrible nightmare. She
watched Miss Conway fling the windows open wide, and place a blanket carefully over her
mother's unconscious form, and the conviction grew upon her, that though the governess
was deeply grieved, she was not surprised and shocked as she herself was and poor Ross
who looked almost scared to death.
Suddenly the governess pointed to the brandy bottle and appealed to the maid.
"Did you supply her with that?" she questioned sternly.
"No, miss, on my word of honour, I did not," Ross replied earnestly. "I never knew she had
it; she must have kept it under lock and key."
There was absolute truth in the girl's voice; and Miss Conway looked puzzled.
"I can't make it out—how she obtained it, I mean," she said at last. "Ross, I think you had
better leave your mistress to me for the present. I rely upon you not to speak of this
downstairs. And Margaret—" the governess's voice softened to the tenderest pity—"will
you take care of Gerald for the rest of the day? Tell him his mother is very poorly, and that
he may have a half-holiday. You could take him down to the beach this afternoon. God help
you to bear this trouble, poor child!"
Margaret made no response. Ringing in her ears were words her father had spoken to her
when they had been discussing Salome's trouble. "We cannot tell how much our patience
and love may be tried, nor what trials and troubles the future may hold for us. We can only
pray that God will strengthen us in our time of need."
Had her father anticipated this hour for her? She could not tell, but she thought it more
than likely.
Meanwhile, Miss Conway was leading her to the door, begging her to put a brave face on
matters, and to go down to dinner without her.
"I feel my duty is here, my dear," she said impressively. "If any one questions you about
your mother, you can truly say she is ill. Oh, Margaret, pray for her; she is greatly to be
pitied!" And so saying, the governess opened the door and pushed her little pupil gently
outside.
For a few minutes Margaret stood perfectly still. Then the sound of Gerald's voice in the
hall below reminded her that she must, as Miss Conway had said, put a brave face on
matters. So she went downstairs and delighted her brother by promising to take him down
to the beach. She was conscious that the burden of a great sorrow was upon her, and she
felt bowed down with an intolerable weight of shame. But she devoted herself assiduously
to Gerald for the remainder of the day; and it was not until nearly nine o'clock, when her
charge was in bed and asleep, that she dared give way to her grief. Then, in the privacy of
her own room, she flung herself upon the bed and wept as though her heart would break.
CHAPTER X.
Mr. Fowler's Return.
"MARGARET! Oh, my dear little girl! Do not grieve so terribly. You will make yourself ill, if
you go on like this."
Margaret tried to stifle her sobs at the sound of the kind, pitying voice, and turned a
swollen, tear-stained countenance towards Miss Conway, who had come in search of her.
She longed to ask for her mother, but for the present, she was incapable of speech. Her
governess, however, read aright her questioning eyes, and said reassuringly, "Your mother
is better, my dear. She regained consciousness some time ago, since when she has had a
cup of tea, and is now asleep. Ross is with her at present."
Miss Conway drew a chair to the bedside and sat down, then she took one of her little
pupil's hands and pressed it softly. "I have sent for your father," she continued; "after—
after what has happened I considered it was my duty to do so. I did not think there was
any necessity to alarm him by a telegram though, so I wrote by to-night's post and—
explained. He will get my letter in the morning, and probably return home at once. So,
dear Margaret, if all's well, he will doubtless be here to-morrow evening."
The little girl was glad to hear this; but at the same time, she dreaded meeting her father
with this new knowledge concerning her mother weighing on her mind. Her sobs had
ceased now, and she could speak collectedly.
"Miss Conway, do you think Ross has told the other servants?" she asked anxiously.
"I am sure she has not, nor do I believe she will. Ross is a thoroughly good girl, and most
sincerely attached to your mother. At first, I confess, I suspected her of having procured
that—that poison, but I was quite wrong! Mrs. Fowler bought the brandy herself, the
afternoon we drove to N— with her. Do you remember we drove on whilst she went into a
grocer's shop? She obtained it there. Oh, it is a shame that grocers should be allowed
licences for supplying intoxicating liquors! Poor soul, she has been telling me how sorely
she was tempted! Oh, Margaret, this all comes of Mrs. Lute's offering her that glass of
wine! She had not touched a stimulant since her illness till then, and had almost lost her
craving for drink. That glass of wine, however, was too much for her, and she felt she must
have more. I need not dwell on the result."
"Oh, Miss Conway, how shameful, how degrading!" Margaret cried passionately. "Oh, to
think that mother should be like that! Oh, no wonder father wished us all to be
teetotalers!"
She covered her flaming face with her hands and shuddered. "How long—how long have
you known this—about mother?" she inquired hesitatingly.
"Many months. Since—oh, long before her illness."
"Was that illness—"
"Caused by drink? Yes. Oh, my dear, I see you guess it all. Your father hoped you would
never know. He trusted that the complete change from life in town to the quietude of the
country, where Mrs. Fowler would meet comparatively few people of her own class, and
where he believed she would be free from temptation, would ultimately cure her of the
fatal habit she had acquired of drinking to excess, and I believe that would have been the
happy result, if you had not unfortunately met Mrs. Lute. Little does Mrs. Lute—good, kind
creature that she is—dream of the mischief she has wrought. Your poor mother is full of
grief and remorse now; and oh, so shocked that you should have seen her to-day. She
knows I have written to Mr. Fowler, and you can imagine how she is dreading his return;
yet she knows he will not be hard upon her. He loves her too well for that!"
Margaret felt at that moment that her affection for her mother was being swallowed up by
a sickening sensation of disgust. She had always loved her very dearly; and had been so
pleased and happy when people had admired her for her beauty and winning ways. Even
when Mrs. Fowler had openly shown her preference for Gerald of her two children, the little
girl, though often hurt, had never evinced any jealousy or resentment. She had accepted
the fact that Gerald was her mother's favourite, and had loved her none the less on that
account. But now, her love was being tried very severely.
The remembrance of Mrs. Fowler as she had last seen her, lying on the bed with flushed
cheeks, breathing stertorously, was absolutely revolting to her. She had many times asked
herself how Salome could continue to love her drunken father; now, she asked herself, was
it possible that she could continue to love her drunken mother? Oh, the horror of the
thought that one so gentle and refined should be on a par with Josiah Petherick, fellow-
victim to a disgraceful, degrading sin!
Perhaps Miss Conway guessed some of the thoughts which were passing through her
companion's mind, for she watched her anxiously, and presently remarked, "I daresay, you
can faintly imagine how your poor mother is feeling now. She had hoped to keep the secret
of her weakness and sin from your knowledge. Your father, too, will be terribly troubled
when he hears you have learnt the truth; but I do not doubt, dear child, that God in His
wisdom has ordered all for the best. You will understand now, as you never did before,
how much Mrs. Fowler needs all your love and devotion. You can help her, if you will, to
the restoration of that self-respect which, once lost, is so hard to regain. You can show her,
by loving her as unfalteringly as Salome loves her erring father, that she can rise above
this habit which has done so much to ruin her health, and happiness, and earn everyone's
respect and her own as well!"
Miss Conway paused, and there was a solemn silence which Margaret at length broke by
saying with a sob, "I do love mother, I do indeed."
"I am sure of it. Mrs. Fowler is a very sweet, lovable woman!"
"Yes," Margaret agreed. "See what a lot of friends she had in town, and how popular she
was! She was always going about—"
"Yes, dear, I know," the governess interposed, "and that was how it was she commenced
taking stimulants. She used to get tired with her constant gaieties, and then she would
take a glass of wine, or some other intoxicant, to revive her, until she grew to like
stimulants, and took more and more. The craving increased, and she drank to the injury of
her health, yet no outsiders guessed it. Then she had nervous attacks, followed at last by
a serious illness. The doctors told your father she was killing herself, and immeasurably
horrified, he took the only course he saw could save his wife—became a teetotaler himself,
and insisted that his household should follow suit. Mrs. Fowler knew he was acting wisely,
and for her sake, but she would not admit it. However, she found total abstinence from all
intoxicants was restoring her to health, and had made up her mind never to touch a
stimulant again when temptation was put in her way, and she fell. God grant she may
prove stronger in the future. Now, my dear, tell me, have you had any supper?"
"No," Margaret replied, "I am not in the least hungry."
"Oh, that's nonsense! You must eat whether you are hungry or not. Come with me."
Margaret demurred at first, but her governess overruled all her objections. And after she
had bathed her tear-stained face, the two went downstairs and had supper together. Miss
Conway did not leave her pupil again until she saw her comfortably tucked up in bed for
the night; then she kissed her, bade her try to sleep well, and left her to herself.
And Margaret did sleep well, absolutely worn out with excitement and grief, whilst the
governess spent the night in Mrs. Fowler's room. At daybreak, Ross came to take Miss
Conway's place, and found her mistress sleeping tranquilly.
"She looks more like herself, miss, doesn't she?" she whispered gladly.
"Yes," Miss Conway answered; "I should let her sleep as long as she will."
She did not say what a harrowing time she had endured during that night watch, or how
Mrs. Fowler had implored her to give her a stimulant, and had declared she would die
without it. But she went away quietly to her own room, and before she lay down to rest,
prayed earnestly to Almighty God for the unhappy woman, whom she pitied from the
depths of her heart.
SHE WENT TO THE FRONT DOOR TO MEET MR. FOWLER.
Early in the morning, a telegram arrived from Mr. Fowler saying he would be at home that
night, and ordering the carriage to be sent to N— to meet him at the railway station. The
governess made no secret of the fact that she had written to inform him of his wife's
illness, and as Ross kept her own counsel, the other servants supposed their mistress to
be suffering from one of the hysterical, nervous attacks to which she had been subject on
her arrival at Greystone.
It was nearly eight o'clock before Mr. Fowler reached home. Margaret, who had spent most
of the day on the beach with her brother, shrank sensitively from the thought of meeting
her father. When she heard the carriage wheels nearing the house, she longed to run away
and hide, but she knew it would never do to act in such a cowardly fashion as that.
Appearances must be kept up, at any rate before the servants, so she went to the front
door with Gerald to meet Mr. Fowler, and returned his loving kiss as quietly and
composedly as though her heart was not beating almost to suffocation.
As she had anticipated, he immediately went upstairs to his wife's room, and it was not
until much later, that she found herself with him alone. Then, after Gerald had gone to
bed, he joined her in the garden, and strolled up and down the lawn by her side, his arm
around her shoulders. For some minutes he did not speak, and she could not see the
expression of his face, for there was no moon, and the stars gave but little light.
At last he said gravely, "Life is very hard, sometimes, Margaret."
"Yes," she agreed, adding with a little sob: "Oh, father, you left her in my care, but I did
not know, and if I had, it would not have made any difference."
"No, no; I understand. She has told me everything herself."
"Oh, father, it is shocking! Think of the disgrace. Oh, you can't imagine how dreadful I feel
about it!"
"I think I can," he replied sadly. "My poor child, I had hoped to have been allowed to keep
this trouble from you, but God willed it otherwise. Have you seen your mother to-day?"
"No, father. She said she did not wish to see me."
"Ah, poor thing, she is ashamed to face you! If I were you, when you meet, I would not
revert to—to her illness at all."
"I will not."
"I shall try and persuade Mrs. Lute to come and spend a few days with us, in order to
cheer us all up."
"Oh, father, Mrs. Lute was the cause of all this trouble."
"I am aware of it; but her intention in offering your mother wine was an excellent one, she
had no idea of working mischief. I shall simply explain to her that this is a teetotal
household, and she is not the woman I take her to be if, after that, she refuses an
invitation to visit us."
"Did you finish your business in London, father?" Margaret questioned.
"Not quite. It must stand over for a few weeks. I shall not leave home again for the
present."
Though he spoke so quietly, Margaret knew her father must be very sore at heart. She had
often wondered why her mother was more at her ease when not in her husband's
presence, and now she understood the reason. Mrs. Fowler was conscious that he was
always keeping a watch upon her, that he did not trust her, and dear though he was to her,
she stood in awe of him.
Until her illness in the spring, he had always allowed her, her own way. But his alarm for
her well-being once aroused, he had taken the reins of government into his own hands,
and had shown her plainly that he meant his will to be law. She had always been a
pleasure-seeking woman and fond of society; but, broken down in health, she had not
found life at Yelton so utterly unbearable as she had anticipated. Her husband had devoted
much of his time to her, and, thrown more in contact with her little daughter, she had
begun to take a deeper interest in her than she had done before.
She had always been pleased to notice her beauty, but of late, she had discovered that
Margaret possessed other and higher attractions—goodness and unselfishness—which she
could not but admire. She saw the little girl had inherited many of her father's excellent
qualities of mind and heart, and uneasily conscious of her own weakness of character, she
was delighted that it was so. Unfortunately there had never been the same sympathy of
feeling between Margaret and her mother as there had always been between the little girl
and her father.
Now, as she strolled by Mr. Fowler's side up and down the lawn, she slipped her hand
through his arm, whilst she leaned her head confidingly against his shoulder, as she said,
"Father, I'm so very glad you've come home."
CHAPTER XI.
Josiah at His Worst.
THE afternoon subsequent to her husband's return, Mrs. Fowler was sufficiently well to
come downstairs and lie on the sofa in the drawing-room. Margaret, who had gone back to
her usual routine of work with Miss Conway, saw little of her mother during the next few
days, and after Mr. Fowler drove to N— one morning, and brought Mrs. Lute home with
him, Mrs. Fowler spent most of her time with her friend, and avoided her little daughter's
society as much as possible.
Mrs. Lute, though she had been much astonished when Mr. Fowler had frankly explained to
her that his was now a teetotal household, was far too well-bred a woman to question him
concerning what his wife had called his "fad;" and though she had been accustomed all her
life to the sparing use of stimulants, she could very well do without them, and was
perfectly satisfied and happy at Greystone.
"So many people are teetotalers nowadays," she remarked pleasantly to Mr. Fowler on one
occasion when she had been several days beneath his roof, "so really you are quite in the
fashion."
"I wish I could think that," he replied, with rather a sad smile.
"Oh, one meets a great many people who are total abstainers!" she assured him. "Why,
Miss Conway tells me she has always been one. It seems drink has been the cause of a
great deal of trouble in her family. And your good Vicar here is a teetotaler too, so he
informed me yesterday. He argues truly that he cannot teach what he does not practise. I
was surprised to hear that even in this quiet little village drink is the curse of the place."
"I believe that is so. There are several notorious drunkards amongst the fishermen, and
one in whom we, as a family, are much interested, on his daughter's account, is likely to
join their ranks."
"You refer to that fine, strong man who took us out boating yesterday, I presume?"
"Yes; Josiah Petherick. He is a most reliable man when sober, but when he has been
drinking—which often happens now, I fear—he is a perfect brute. I have been hearing
many tales to his discredit lately, and this morning I was told on reliable authority in the
village, that he spends nearly all his earnings at the 'Crab and Cockle' now, and begrudges
the money for the household accounts. Last night, he went home more intoxicated than
usual—actually mad drunk—and smashed up some of the furniture in his cottage, after
which he turned his little daughter out-doors. The poor child was forced to beg a night's
lodging from Mrs. Moyle at the village shop, and to-day, all Yelton is talking about it."
A faint exclamation of dismay caused Mrs. Lute and Mr. Fowler, who had been conversing
in the garden, close outside the drawing-room window, to look around. They encountered
Mrs. Fowler's shocked gaze. Hearing them talking, she had come to the window and had
overheard all that had been said.
"Oh, Henry, that poor Salome!" she cried, her blue eyes full of tears. "Have you seen her
to-day?"
"No; but the Vicar has. Hearing what had happened, he went down to Petherick's cottage
the first thing this morning. Salome had just returned and was doing her utmost to put the
place to rights, and her father had gone out in his boat in a very humbled, repentant state
of mind, after having apologised to her for his abominable behaviour, and having promised
he would not act so madly again."
Mrs. Fowler sighed, whilst Mrs. Lute said gravely, "Let us hope he will keep his word."
"He will not, without he gives up the drink," Mr. Fowler rejoined, with conviction in his
tone. "No, he will go from bad to worse until, in one of his drunken frenzies, he will do
something he will never cease to regret—perhaps some injury to his child."
Mrs. Fowler sank into a chair looking pale and perturbed, whilst her husband and friend
drifted into another channel of conversation. The news she had heard about the Pethericks
had upset her, and when, a short while later, Margaret entered the room, the first question
she put to her was to ask if she had seen Salome that day.
"No, mother," the little girl answered. "Why?" she added, struck by the almost frightened
expression on Mrs. Fowler's face.
She listened in silence, her colour alternately coming and going, to all there was to tell,
then exclaimed "Oh, I am sorry! Poor Salome! And it rained heavily last night. Perhaps she
will come up to the church this evening to hear me practise the organ. Oh, I hope she will!
When are you coming to hear me play again, mother?"
"Oh, some time! Perhaps when Mrs. Lute has gone."
"Wouldn't Mrs. Lute come too?"
"Oh, I don't think you play well enough—" Mrs. Fowler paused abruptly, conscious of the
hurt look on her little daughter's countenance. She had avoided Margaret lately, and
Margaret had noticed the fact with acute pain. What had she done that her mother should
abstain from meeting her gaze? An insurmountable barrier seemed to have sprung up
between mother and child.
Margaret's heart was full of bitterness as she turned away and left the room. She had
endeavoured to show no feeling but that of love for her mother since her recent
indisposition, but it had been impossible for Mrs. Fowler not to remark a slight difference in
her manner, of which Margaret was unconscious herself. She thought she read reproach in
the little girl's eyes, and shrank sensitively from being alone with her. She was ashamed in
the presence of her own child.
Had Margaret grasped the truth of the situation, she would have judged her mother less
harshly; but failing to do so, she was deeply pained, and told herself that her mother liked
her less than ever. Upon Gerald, Mrs. Fowler lavished all her affection. She would listen to
his chatter untiringly, talking gaily in return; and, however much he teased her, she always
found excuses for him.
Miss Conway did not give Margaret a music lesson that evening, for Mrs. Fowler requested
her to accompany Mrs. Lute and herself for a walk, and to bring Gerald with her, so
Margaret went alone to the church.
She practised for an hour, then dismissed the boy who had blown the organ for her, and
was leaving the church when she caught sight of a small figure huddled up in a corner of a
pew near the west door. It was Salome.
"Is it you, Salome?" Margaret cried, hastening to her side, and laying her hand tenderly
upon her shoulder. The lame girl lifted her bowed head, and in the dim light, Margaret saw
she had been weeping, though there were no tears in her brown eyes now, and her lips
were curved in a smile.
"I've been asleep," she said. "I'm glad you didn't go without speaking to me, Miss
Margaret. I came in whilst you were practising, and I was tired. I—I had little rest last
night."
"I know—I've heard," Margaret returned hurriedly, as the other paused in confusion.
"Have you, miss? I'm glad of that, for now I shan't have to tell you, and I'd rather not talk
of it."
"Of course you would rather not."
"I was tired," Salome proceeded; "so tired and worn out, that I couldn't help crying. My
poor legs ached so—but oh! not so badly as my heart. The pain here—" clasping her hands
against her breast—"was almost more than I could bear. Then I fell asleep, and I was
dreaming when you awoke me."
"I hope it was a pleasant dream," Margaret said softly.
"Oh, very pleasant! I thought it was evening time—getting almost dark as it is now—and
service was going on in the church. I could hear father's voice singing with the choir. You
can't imagine what a deep, beautiful voice father has, Miss Margaret. I was listening to it
when you awoke me. But I'm glad you happened to catch sight of me, though you did
disturb my dream. Is anything wrong, miss?" And the lame girl's brown eyes peered
anxiously at her companion.
"I am not happy," Margaret confessed with a sigh.
"Mrs. Fowler is not ill again?" Salome questioned in concerned tones.
"No, no; she is perfectly well. We have an old friend visiting us, and that makes it pleasant
for mother."
"I saw a strange lady in church with you on Sunday, miss; and father took her out in his
boat with Mrs. Fowler. She treated him very handsomely, he said; but I wish she hadn't."
"Why?" Margaret asked in surprise.
"Because he spent the money she gave him in drink at the public-house, and that was the
beginning of the trouble last night. There, I didn't mean to talk of it, but, naturally, it's
uppermost in my mind."
"Of course it is. Did you—did you get wet last night?"
"Dripping to the skin," Salome admitted. "But Mrs. Moyle—God bless her!—took me in and
gave me dry clothes, and a bed too. But oh, I couldn't sleep for wondering what father was
up to at home. You can never be certain what a drunken body will not do. How selfish I
am, though, to talk so much of myself. Won't you tell me what troubles you, Miss
Margaret?"
"No, Salome, I can't," was the low response. "It's something I can never speak of."
"Then try not to think too much about it, miss," the lame girl advised. "If I were you, I'd
tell my trouble to God, and leave it to Him. That's what I do with mine."
"By your trouble, you mean your father?" Margaret inquired diffidently.
"Yes, miss. Do you remember saying to me that night you and I had been sitting in the
porch, and father had come home drunk—'May God help you, Salome'? I think you saw
God was the only One who could help me; and I want to remind you of those words of
yours, because maybe He's the only One who can help you too! Why, how dark it's getting
think, miss, we had better go."
She reached for her crutches as she spoke, and swung herself out of the pew into the
aisle. Margaret followed her silently through the west door into the churchyard. It was
nearly dark, for it was September now, and the evenings were shortening fast; but whilst
they lingered at the churchyard gate, the edge of the moon appeared in the eastern
horizon, and slowly sailed upwards into the cloudless sky, illuminating the old grey church,
surrounded with the graves of the quiet dead, and shedding its pale light on the little
village and the broad surface of the peaceful sea.
"How beautiful!" cried Margaret. "It is the harvest moon, so father said last night. But,
Salome, it is late for you to be out alone. Shall I walk part of the way home with you?"
"Oh, no, thank you, miss! I shall be perfectly safe. Besides, it's quite light now the moon
has risen. Good night, miss."
"Good night, Salome."
Margaret went back to Greystone in a very thoughtful frame of mind. She considered that
her friend was not half so depressed as she herself would have been under similar
circumstances, not reflecting that Salome's trouble had come upon her by slow degrees. It
had taken five years to change Josiah Petherick from a sober, God-fearing man into the
desperate drunkard who had turned his only child out-doors last night.
Meanwhile, Salome, as she swung herself down the hill, wondered what could be amiss
with Miss Margaret. She had grown deeply attached to the pretty, fair-haired girl, who had,
from the first time they had met, treated her with the greatest kindness and consideration.
She had given her several lessons in the art of knitting, and the lessons had given pleasure
to teacher and pupil alike; and both were much interested in the progression of the sock
which Margaret was rather laboriously making under the other's instructions.
The "Crab and Cockle" was lit up brightly as Salome passed by, and she sighed as she
heard the hoarse murmur of voices within, for she imagined her father to be there; but
great was her surprise on reaching home, to find him in the little yard at the back of the
cottage bathing his face at the pump. When he came into the kitchen, she noticed not only
that he was intoxicated, but that he had a cut on his cheek, and one eye was turning
black. She asked no questions, however, for she saw he was in one of his worst moods; so
she lit the lamp in silence, and proceeded to set the supper on the table. Presently, he
remarked that he had quarrelled with someone, and they had come to blows.
"'Twas Silas Moyle—" he was beginning, when, in her surprise, she interrupted him.
"Silas Moyle!" she echoed, for the baker was a steady, peace-loving man.
"Yes," he nodded; "the canting humbug!" He looked at her sullenly, even resentfully, she
thought; and she trembled with fear as she noticed his shaking hands and quivering lips.
Then he burst forth into a volley of oaths, and she gleaned that he was angry with her for
having sought refuge with the Moyles on the preceding night. He stormed against her,
against Silas and his wife, against everyone, in short, who had remonstrated with him that
day. Apparently, his neighbours had been telling him some plain home truths which had
not been pleasant hearing.
"Oh, father, don't say any more!" Salome pleaded in great distress. "Oh, please don't
swear so frightfully! What could I do? You turned me out of my home, and I did not know
where to go, except to Mrs. Moyle's. Oh, don't speak of her like that! It was out of pure
kindness she took me in. You would not have had me spend the night out of doors in that
lashing rain, would you? Oh, father, you are cruel indeed!"
The reproach in her sorrowful eyes enraged him beyond measure.
"You dare stand up for those who insult your father!" he shouted in a fury; and clutching
her by the shoulder, he shook her savagely, then flung her from him with some violence.
Losing her hold of her crutches, they fell to the ground; and staggering forward with a
frightened cry, she knocked her forehead against a corner of the mantelpiece, and the next
moment, lay white and unconscious at her father's feet.
CHAPTER XII.
A Brief Repentance.
IT was about half-past nine o'clock that same night, that the Vicar of Yelton opened the
Pethericks' garden gate, and stepping determinedly up the path, rapped at the door of the
cottage.
Returning from an evening's fishing an hour previously, he had been stopped in the village,
on his way home, by Silas Moyle, who had poured into his ears an excited tale about
Josiah, whom Silas had taken upon himself to remonstrate with upon his cruel conduct to
his daughter on the previous night, with the result that Josiah, inflamed with drink, had
struck him, and had received in return a black eye and an injured cheek.
"You know, sir, I'm a man of peace, and don't hold with brawling," Silas had said; "but I
own I lost my temper to-night. Josiah's a regular blackguard when he's drunk."
"It was foolish to remonstrate with a drunken man," Mr. Amyatt had answered. "Had you
spoken to him in his sober moments, your words might have had a very different effect.
Where is Josiah now?"
"Gone home, swearing vengeance against me, sir. My great fear is, that he'll do some
harm to poor Salome."
That had been the Vicar's fear, too. So, instead of going straight to the Vicarage as he had
intended, he had retraced his footsteps to the Pethericks' cottage, and now stood waiting
for admittance at the door.
As no one answered his knock, he rapped louder and listened. For a few moments there
was silence; then came the sound of heavy, dragging footsteps, and Josiah opened the
door and demanded hoarsely who was there.
"It is I, Petherick," the Vicar answered, stepping uninvited across the threshold.
"Where is your daughter?" he asked, fixing his eyes upon the fisherman, who stood staring
at him in a dazed fashion.
Receiving no reply, he turned into the kitchen, an exclamation of horror and dismay
breaking from his lips, as he caught sight of the small, slight figure of the lame girl lying
near the fireplace. Very tenderly, he lifted her and placed her in the one easy-chair in the
room, calling to Josiah to bring some water immediately.
"Water!" questioned Josiah stupidly. "What for? She's dead. She's been dead this half-hour
or more; but I haven't dared touch her. Salome, Salome! I've killed you, my poor maid!
Your own father's killed you, Salome;" and flinging himself on his knees at his daughter's
side, Josiah wept like a child.
"Don't be foolish, Petherick," Mr. Amyatt said sternly. He had been feeling Salome's pulse,
and had ascertained that it beat, though feebly. "She's not dead, but she has fainted.
Come, be a man. Pull yourself together, and fetch some water at once."
"Not dead," Josiah cried excitedly. "Are you sure? Then, God be thanked for that!" He rose
from his knees, and went into the yard, returning in a few seconds with a basin of water.
Very gently, the Vicar bathed Salome's white face until her eyelids flickered and a faint
colour stole to her lips. Josiah, sobered by fright, explained what had happened, not
sparing himself, but declaring he would not have injured a hair of his daughter's head, if he
could have helped it, for Mr. Amyatt must know how much he loved her.
"Tush, Petherick!" the Vicar responded impatiently, mingled pity and disgust in his tone.
"Don't talk to me of your love for Salome. A nice way you have of showing it. Last night,
you turned her out of doors in torrents of rain—"
"I was drunk," Josiah interposed hastily. "She riled me, she did, with her tears, and—"
"Having been drunk is no excuse," Mr. Amyatt interrupted in his turn. "Not content with
your scandalous conduct last night, you must continue your unmanly behaviour to-day and
knock Salome down, and—"
"No, no," said a weak voice at this point. It was Salome who spoke. She had regained
consciousness, and was sufficiently herself to understand what was going on. "No, no," she
repeated, "it was an accident. He did not mean to hurt me."
"I shook her, and—and pushed her," Josiah admitted, looking thoroughly ashamed of
himself. "I meant her no harm, sir, but I was rough, and—oh, Salome, can you ever forgive
me?" And the wretched man turned appealingly to the little figure in the easy-chair.
"Yes," was the faint response. "I—I don't think I'm much hurt."
"Are you in pain?" Mr. Amyatt asked gently.
"No, sir; but my forehead is very sore. I must have knocked it in falling."
"Yes, poor child, I see you did; there is a big bruise coming."
"I suppose I fainted?" she inquired, looking wistfully from the Vicar to her father, who was
regarding her in gloomy silence.
"Yes, that was it, you fainted," Mr. Amyatt replied. "But you are much better now; and
after a good night's rest, I have no doubt you will be almost yourself again."
Salome glanced at her crutches, which were lying on the ground. Mr. Amyatt picked them
up and placed them against her chair.
"Thank you, sir," she said gratefully, lifting her brown eyes shyly to his face, which
expressed so plainly his sympathy and concern. "I think I shall be all right now," she
added. "Thank you for being so kind."
"Does that mean you wish me to go?" he queried with a smile. "Well, I don't know that I
can do any good by remaining longer. Good night, my dear."
He took Salome's small, thin hand and pressed it reassuringly, then beckoned to her father
to follow him to the door.
"You must have someone in to see to that poor child to-night, Petherick," he said gravely.
"Can you call upon assistance from one of your neighbours?"
Josiah shook his head doubtfully.
"Then, shall I ask Mrs. Moyle to look in and help get Salome to bed?" the Vicar suggested.
A dull, shamed flush rose to the fisherman's face, and he began to stammer something
about not knowing whether Mrs. Moyle would come inside his doors, seeing he had
quarrelled with her husband only that evening; but the Vicar cut him short.
"I know all about that, Petherick. Silas Moyle told me the tale himself not an hour ago. I
heard it with great regret, for Silas is a sincere well-wisher of yours, and he and his wife
would do anything in the world for your little girl. You had better let me send Mrs. Moyle to
you—that is, if she will come; perhaps she will not. Shall I be the bearer of an apology
from you to Silas?"
"I'm sorry I hit him," Josiah acknowledged truthfully.
"Shall I tell him that?"

"If you please, sir. I admit, I deserved what he gave me. Oh, sir, I've had a fine fright this
night! I thought I'd killed Salome."
"You might have done so."
"Then I should have been a murderer," Josiah groaned. "I'm a bad lot, sir, that's what I
am."
He seemed perfectly sober now, so Mr. Amyatt spoke a few solemn words to him, imploring
him, for the sake of his little daughter, to give up the drink, and take the pledge. Josiah
declared he would think seriously about doing so, and went back to Salome, whilst the
Vicar hurried in search of Mrs. Moyle.
At first, that good woman, kind-hearted and fond of the lame girl though she was, said
nothing would make her enter the doors of one who had so insulted her husband as had
Josiah. But, on Silas adding his entreaties to the Vicar's, she gave in and betook herself to
the Pethericks' cottage, where, after having assisted Salome upstairs, and put her to bed,
she declared her intention of remaining for the night. She was not going to leave "that
poor motherless lamb," as she called Salome, "in the house alone with a maniac."
Josiah Petherick did not look much like a maniac, however, as he sat in the kitchen
listening to Mrs. Moyle's scathing remarks as she put away the supper things. He was in a
wonderfully subdued and repentant frame of mind, and sat with his elbows on the table
and his aching head resting in his hands. At last, he could bear his companion's home
thrusts no longer, and exclaimed, "Good gracious, woman, do you imagine I don't know
what a beast I am?"
"Well, if you do know it, why don't you turn over a new leaf?" she inquired. "I mind what a
steady young fellow you used to be. You're too easily led, that's what you are. Make up
your mind to give up the drink."
"I can't—not entirely; it's got too strong a hold on me," he confessed.
"That's the way of it. Well, you'll have to choose between drink and Salome—that's my
opinion—for you're killing her by slow degrees."
Josiah started; but Mrs. Moyle did not pursue the subject further. She told him he had
better go to bed, and make no noise to disturb his daughter. Accordingly, he took off his
boots and crept upstairs in his stockinged feet, whilst Mrs. Moyle, having put out the lamp,
and ascertained that the door of the cottage was securely fastened, returned to Salome,
whom she found sleeping peacefully.
The next day, Josiah put himself in the way of Silas Moyle, and actually apologised to him
for having struck. And Silas was magnanimous and forgave him, though it must be
admitted, he regarded the other's black eye and swelled cheek with a sense of satisfaction.
They were marks that would remain to remind Josiah of his ill conduct for some days to
come.
Salome was poorly for nearly a week, and the first occasion on which she showed herself
in the village, she was met on all sides by commiserating looks and words which showed
her plainly that everyone was quite aware that her father had been the cause of her
accident. The sympathy thus evinced towards her, though kindly offered, cut her to the
heart, and she returned home utterly miserable.
During the days which followed, Mr. Amyatt made several ineffectual attempts to induce
Josiah to take the pledge. No, Josiah said, there was no need for him to do that; but he
had made up his mind to turn over a new leaf, nevertheless, and the Vicar would see that
he could take his glass of beer like other men and be none the worse for it. The Vicar
shook his head at that, but Josiah was not to be moved, so the matter was, perforce,
dropped.
Margaret was the first of the inmates of Greystone to hear of Salome's accident. Mrs.
Moyle gave her full particulars of it one morning when she had an errand at the shop. And
before going home, she went to inquire for her lame friend, whom she found sitting in the
porch of the cottage with such a bright, hopeful expression on her pale countenance, that
she was surprised, and remarked upon it.
"Oh, I am ever so much better!" Salome assured her with a smile.
"Are you really?" Margaret asked anxiously. "You have a nasty bruise on your forehead."
"Oh, that's nothing, indeed, miss! Have you heard how it happened? They haven't made
you believe father did it on purpose, have they? He wouldn't hurt me for anything, if he
could help it. Oh, Miss Margaret, I do believe father means to be steadier for the future!"
"Is he going to be a teetotaler, then?" Margaret inquired eagerly.
"No—o," was the dubious reply, "I'm afraid not; but he says he won't take more beer than
is good for him. Oh, I know he has said that lots of times before, but I believe he really
means it now. Indeed, he has been quite different these last few days—more like what he
used to be when dear mother was alive."
This was quite true. Mrs. Moyle's words that he would have to choose between drink and
Salome had made a strong impression upon Josiah, and had caused him to notice how
much thinner and paler his little daughter had become of late. His conscience reproached
him on her account, for he knew that she was not very strong, and that she worked hard,
besides which, his unsteady habits were a constant trouble to her. In his repentance, he
felt capable of denying himself anything for her sake—except drink, and that, he solemnly
vowed he would take sparingly.
Seeing that Salome was so hopeful that her father meant to live a sober life for the future,
Margaret had not the heart to express the doubts which occupied her mind; but on her
return to Greystone, she saw, by Mr. Fowler's grave face when she explained the situation
to him, that he did not believe Josiah's repentance would be lasting, and trembled for the
safety and happiness of her little lame friend.
"Don't you think he means to keep his word, and not get intoxicated again?" she
questioned.
"Oh, yes!" Mr. Fowler replied, "I think he means all he says. But I feel sure, if he does not
give up drink altogether, it will soon have the mastery over him again. I believe he loves
Salome very dearly, but he loves drink even better than his little daughter, or he would be
willing to give it up for her sake. Poor Salome! I greatly fear she has more trouble in store
for her with that father of hers."
This proved to be the case. For before a fortnight had quite elapsed since Salome's
accident, Josiah was drinking heavily again, and spending his evenings at the "Crab and
Cockle," as he had done of old. His repentance had been of brief duration; and the lame
girl's face grew pinched, and her dark brown eyes larger and sadder, as her father
squandered more and more of his earnings at the village inn; whilst Silas Moyle grumbled

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Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion in

Caribbean Organisations and Society:

Diversity, Equality, and

ISBN 978-3-030-47613-7 ISBN 978-3-030-47614-4 (eBook)

than as individuals with varying levels of skills and competence (Duncan

responsibility, potential business benefits, moral arguments and the pur-

i) Race Relations in the Caribbean: The Myth of Representative

2 Race Relations in the Caribbean: The Myth

3 Equality and Discrimination on the Basis of Sex 43

4 Sexual Orientation and Inclusivity

5 Disability: Disparate Treatment or Inclusion

6 Politics and Inclusivity in the Caribbean 107

7 Equality and the Law: A Caribbean Perspective 131

8 Equality Laws Compared: The Caribbean, the UK

9 Liberalisation of Higher Education in the Caribbean:

10 The Challenge of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Table 2.1 Distribution of posts by race (%; 1970–1992) 25

Table 6.1 Per cent of vote allocated to the majority parties

The Anglophone Caribbean is an archipelago of former colonies of the

© The Author(s) 2020 1

necessarily wish to be treated the same in every aspect of their working

and Ramrattan 2015). Within the Caribbean region, for persons of

policies and practices. This is evident in developed countries includ-

and its reputation, even where the organisation is ultimately found by

greater level of innovation and ideas (Kochan et al. 2003; Subeliani

Notwithstanding the limited passage of non-discrimination legis-

anecdotal evidence. Insights may be gleaned from the experiences and

applied. Chapter 8 then facilitates a comparison of the equality laws in

Caribbean Development Research Services (CADRES). (2013c). Attitudes

Stephenson, J., & Persadie, N. (2019). Anti-discrimination legislation in the

Race Relations in the Caribbean: The Myth

© The Author(s) 2020 15

University of California Press.

Vol. 12, No. 4: 415–427.

of Continuing Studies, Trinidad and Tobago, St Augustine.

To these theorists, the plural society was therefore an unstable ­society

Summary Overview of the Theory of Representative

10 Donald Kingsley. 1944. Representative bureaucracy. Yellow Springs, OH: Antioch

expanded theory. https://patimes.org/a-critical-assessment-of-representative-bureaucracy-

Administration Review, Vol. 34, No. 6 (November–December, 1974), pp. 628–631.

International Review of Administrative Sciences, Vol. 60: 385–397, 386.

representation of dominant upper middle-class of British society rather

i. A reasonable cross-section of the body politic in terms of occupa-

Following on this, Mosher (1968),17 deepened the argument sug-

15 Norton Long, 1952. “Bureaucracy and constitutionalism.” American Political Science

Review, Vol. 46: 808–818.

Emerging out of the analysis of the arguments for representative bureau-

Addressing Ethnic Imbalances in the Public Sector

Trinidad and Tobago is a small country with a population of approxi-

Guyana.” Guyana History Gazzette, No. 65.

Brown 199919). In addition, factors including the historically developed

Guyana. Paper delivered at Sheffield University Seminar on the Caribbean. Sheffield, 9

Chicago, IL: Rand McNally.

Toronto University Press.

…The DLP, by contrast, although technically a party, was, in behavior, noth-

Ethnic Imbalances in the Public Sector 1962–1986

This inequity was further highlighted in 1989 when the Trinidad

24 Report of the Constitution Commission of Trinidad and Tobago. 1987. Presented to

Table 2.1 Distribution of posts by race (%; 1970–1992)

Year Range 60+ Range 46–59 Range 35–45 Under 35

East Other East Other East Other East Other

1970 20.7 79.3 25.6 74.4 33.5 66.5 25.1 74.9

Table 2.2 Racial representation in senior administrative positions (%; 1992)

i) Race Relations in the Caribbean: The Myth of Representative

To these theorists, the plural society was therefore an unstable society

Summary Overview of the Theory of Representative

i. A reasonable cross-section of the body politic in terms of occupa-

Offering Explanations for Ethnic Imbalances

Evaluating the Mechanisms to All for Equal

i. The lack of action by Parliament in dealing with both Annual