A remark by CXC Chief Operations Officer, Dr. Nicole Manning that “Men are born leaders” has evoked controversy.
Manning was speaking on August 18 at the formal launch of CXC results for 2026 in Anguilla.
Discussing the disparity in male and female participation in the exams, Manning said females accounted for 62 per cent of CAPE entries this year, compared with 38 per cent for males.
At the CSEC level, females represented 59 per cent of candidates, while males accounted for 41 per cent.
Manning said the disparity, particularly at the secondary level, warranted deeper examination by the region’s education systems.
“There must be a deeper assessment regarding the disparity between female and male candidates,” she said, contending that educators must ensure that boys are given the support necessary to succeed.
She then stated “For me, men are born leaders, and we have to respect that and help them to stay in that place”.
“This disparity has come about for whatever reason, and together as educators we are going to try to see what we are doing to ensure that the candidates, our own children, that start at the primary level 50/50; we remove that disparity,” she added.
Yesterday in a statement, the Caribbean Family Planning Affiliation (CFPA), IGNITE, Youth Advocacy Movement (YAM) Grenada and Caribbean Religious Voices for Justice (CRVJ) called for serious and constructive engagement following her remarks.
“We believe this assertion requires reflection not because men should be excluded from leadership, but because leadership should never be treated as a male birthright…
“Men are not born leaders any more than women are born followers. Children are born with potential. Leadership is developed through character, education, opportunity, relationships, responsibility and service. When societies consistently give boys authority while teaching girls accommodation, what later appears to be “natural leadership” may simply be privilege practised until it looks like nature”, the groups said.
They added that the Caribbean knows this reality well.
“For generations, Caribbean women have led families, communities, churches, schools, businesses, movements and nations often while much of their labour remained invisible or undervalued.
“The question, therefore, is not how we help men `stay in that place.’ The question is: Who created that place? Who has access to it? Who has been excluded? And why should leadership be determined by gender rather than competence, character and calling?”, the group said.
They added that Christian faith offers another model.
“Jesus challenged the pursuit of status and turned conventional leadership on its head: `Whoever wants to be first must be servant of all.’ (Mark 9:35). That is leadership as service, accountability and responsibility for the flourishing of all people, not domination or entitlement”, the groups stated.
The groups called for a Caribbean conversation about boys and men, “but it must be a conversation about healthy masculinity, where boys are encouraged to be compassionate, courageous, collaborative and emotionally healthy, and where men can lead without equating masculinity with control”.
They said that girls need the same freedom: the freedom to lead without apology.
“Closing the gender gap is not about replacing men with women. It is about transforming systems that have historically attached power and leadership to gender. Our schools, churches, universities, workplaces and public institutions should recognise leadership through competence, integrity, vision, service and accountability not chromosomes”, the groups said.
The statement added that the Caribbean needs a coordinated response to the gender gap.
“Let that response ask a bigger question: How do we build a Caribbean where women and men can bring their full humanity to leadership, where power is shared rather than protected, and where leadership is exercised not over others, but for the common good?
“This is not a threat to men. It is an invitation to all of us to imagine and practise a better way of leading”, the statement said.
Discussion