KINGSTON, Jamaica – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) says two of Jamaica’s top academic leaders are now working on a national rollout strategy to equip Jamaican women to thrive in the digital era.
Chief execuive officer of the Management Institute for National Development (MIND), Dr. Ruby Brown and University of the West Indies (UWI) Professor, Gunjan Mansingh.It said that the academics recently participated in a Global Leadership Academy on Women Leading in the Digital Era that took place in Marrakesh, Morocco.
The chief executive officer of the Management Institute for National Development (MIND), Dr. Ruby Brown and University of the West Indies (UWI) Professor, Gunjan Mansingh, joined more than 60 diverse women leaders across politics, institutions, and civil society, connecting five continents, for the four-day event last month hosted by the UNDP and the United Nations Electoral Assistance Division (UNEAD).
The UNDP said that the two Jamaican educators were equipped to champion digital equity and inclusive leadership in the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI), focusing on developing personalised leadership journey maps and concrete action plans to promote women’s leadership in the digital space within their institutions and communities in Jamaica.
“Their plans are expected to form the foundation for national implementation strategies, enabling participants to share lessons while scaling the Academy’s impact across sectors and generations,” the UNDP said, adding that long after the 2025 global academy, the initiative intends to build a global alumni network of women leaders who continue to collaborate, mentor, and support one another.
UNDP Resident Representative, Dr. Kishan Khoday, said this is not just training, it is a movement for future-ready, values-driven leadership.
“By investing in women’s digital leadership, the Academy contributes directly to inclusive governance, stronger institutions, and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The UNDP Multi Country Office here in Jamaica was delighted to nominate these two outstanding academic leaders to help further the participation of women in the digital age,” Khoday stated.
Brown said that participating in the academy was a “timely and highly practical experience that strengthened my approach to inclusive, future-ready public leadership”.
She said lessons learned will support institutionalising leadership development in MIND’s implementation of the Public Sector Learning and Development (PSL&D) Policy and its learning framework and help embed leadership values and behaviours to sustain transformation across the public service.
For her part, Mansingh said the conversations went far beyond theory.
“I gained practical frameworks and tools for transformational leadership that challenged my long-held belief that leadership is either innate or learned only through experience,” she recalled, noting that a key takeaway for her is that technology, when guided by diverse and inclusive leadership, can become a powerful force for systemic equality.
The academy’s mandate is shaped by evidence of systemic exclusion of women, youth and persons with disabilities from systems which shape the future, demonstrating the urgency of inclusive design and leadership.
Globally, women hold only 10–11 per cent of tech leadership roles, 22 per cent of AI jobs, and 27 per cent of parliamentary seats, leaving half of humanity out of digital and political decision-making.
The UNDP said that AI is also advancing faster than institutions can govern it, disproportionately affect women, girls, and marginalized communities.
