PM Browne Outlines Plans to Formalize Labour Queen Contestants into Party Leadership Pipeline
Prime Minister Gaston Browne has announced plans to create a formal structure within the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) for Labour Queen contestants, aiming to transform the group into a platform for female empowerment and leadership development.
Speaking on Pointe FM on Saturday alongside the 2025 Labour Queen contestants, Browne said it was time to move beyond viewing the show as a simple pageant, and instead recognize it as an opportunity to foster future leaders.
“I would like to see former and current Labour Queen contestants form themselves into an influential entity within the Labour Party,” Browne stated. He proposed that past and present contestants be formally organized to access opportunities for professional growth, including serving on statutory boards and even running for political office.
Highlighting the current underrepresentation of women in Parliament, Browne stressed the need for more female candidates, noting that the party currently has only one female parliamentarian. He expressed optimism that with their talent and educational backgrounds, many of the contestants could rise to leadership positions not only within the party but nationally.
Browne said a forum would be organized with past and current contestants to discuss how best to institutionalize the group and provide additional avenues for advancement, including scholarships, investments, and leadership roles.
“The Labour Queen show should not be seen as a flippant beauty contest. It is about the holistic development of these individuals,” he said, adding that the initiative ties into broader efforts to strengthen youth development through institutions like the Antigua and Barbuda Institute of Information Technology (ABIIT) and the University of the West Indies Five Islands Campus.
Browne emphasized that the contestants, as role models, could inspire other young women across Antigua and Barbuda to pursue personal and professional excellence.
“I want to utilize my best efforts to assist them with their development and to create as many opportunities as possible,” he said.
Advertise with the mоѕt vіѕіtеd nеwѕ ѕіtе іn Antigua!
We offer fully customizable and flexible digital marketing packages.
Contact us at [email protected]
Gaston may have messed up in certain areas but he has good leadership skills. UPP should take a page out of his book.
When I heard him said before that a labor party private organization shows to promote votes to entrench the party in power creatively should be put in the Senate and now board, I was shocked. Because it’s equating that state should pay for ALP events that they held in their private capacity as an organization or company.
He’s staying wide of the ALFA NERO topic this time. Reality is staring him smack in the face. He should listen to Part 5 of the Recovery. If there was ever an initial doubt of his involvement in fraud/theft ; bad intentions generally, these revelations have him exposed and it’s just patience now to witness the outcome.
Several countries have indeed made strides toward increasing female representation in political leadership. Nations like Rwanda, Sweden, Finland, and Norway are known for their higher percentages of women in government roles. Rwanda, for example, has one of the highest proportions of female legislators in the world. Other countries, such as New Zealand and Canada, have also seen significant progress in recent years. Overall, while there’s still a long way to go, many countries are actively working toward gender parity in leadership roles.
Say what you want to say, this is meaningful leadership. How can anyone come up against this unless they hate women? Stop hating Gaston Browne and start loving his actions.
PM Browne you are doing a wonderful job. Women’s empowerment should be on the political agenda at all times. Big up to you.
This man is a genius. Women have been very absent in politics and political leadership throughout the entire world, and it is a very troubling situation that almost all leaders are trying to reverse.It is the opportune time to change this status quo. Thanks to Prime Minister Browne for his leadership and wisdom.
Is that what you call women empowerment? Isn’t it more of exploitation fo our most valuable resource by the PeeeeeeeeeM and ALP to advance their political cause?
The PeeeeeeeeeM’s wife will be there to sash the winner. She will be dressed more decemt.amd modest than Queen Elizabeth the Second.
Yet the labour vipers will be there dribbling and deciding which will be their next prey.
If that’s women empowerment I am glad that I am not empowered.
If women want to be involved in poliTricks they will be. We don’t need you to force them into it.
Gaston Browne is looking a way to these Young Ladies, if he really find any of them, fitting to be made a Senator or to be promoted to a Statutory Body, well why not go ahead and appoint the individuals.
Your bullshit talk cannot baffle or fool me, you has the power in your hands to appoint anyone to the Senate or any Statutory Board at anytime, any day, so what’s all this talk about?
You might as well come straight out and demand of them to be a part of your GASTONITES, because its their support that you are looking.
Nice ideas ,wish these were around during my pageant days.Hope union dues will be paying for those college credits and not taxpayers.