Floss Cassasola

Floss Cassasola was born in 1903 and became an elementary school teacher, rising to the position of principal. She also taught music and promoted Belizean culture through the writing of folk songs. She was president of British Honduras Federation of Teachers (BHFT). She embraced volunteerism and was active in politics. She was a member of the National Executive Council of the National Independence Party (NIP). In 1952 she ran and won a seat in the Belize City Council. 

Gwendolyn Lizarraga

Gwendolyn Lizarraga, born in 1901, was also awarded the MBE. She had a sharp political mind, was described as a ‘folksy’ politician as she related well to the working class. She dedicated her life to women, forming the United Women Group (UWG), an arm of the People’s United Party (PUP). Lizarraga organised groups for the PUP but was motivated more by the dream of economic independence than by the achievement of power. She desired women’s rights to be a part of the human rights clause of the constitution. At the age of 60 she was the first woman to be elected to the National Assembly and serve in the position from 1961 to 1969. As a minister of government she was responsible for education, housing and social services. As a business woman she was involved in the lumber and chicle industries. Her contribution to women’s lives also came through social work, helping in the establishment of day-care facilities and a women’s credit union. She was committed to the idea of women being self-sufficient and was quite outspoken on women becoming freeholders and house owners, because such status gave political empowerment and qualified them for the franchise. She had two planks to her political platform-improved housing and increasing education for the underprivileged teens. The Gwendolyn Lizarraga High School was the first junior secondary school established under her ministry. She also worked to bring about self-government.

Elfreda Reyes

Elfreda Reyes was born in 1900. She was a domestic servant and active in the workers’ movement from the 1930s to the 1960s, and organised domestic workers in the 1950s. In 1953 she led the drive for better wages. She wanted to see a 100% increase in wages and legal contracts for domestics. She was a member of the Women’s League and was active in the nationalist movement of the 1950s and chaired a local group of the General Workers Union (GWU). In 1962 she was appointed to a committee to deal with the concerns of domestics. Her decades of agitation bore fruit in 1965 when labor laws were enacted to protect domestics. She died in 1992.

Vivian Seay

Vivian Seay was a nurse and head of the Black Cross Nurses of Belize (BCNB) from 1920-71. She became a member of the Belize Town Board in 1933 and was nominated to serve in all-nominated Belize City Council in 1951. She was awarded the MBE in 1935. Seen as conservative, she nonetheless represented the interest of women and supported the rise of women politically. 

Source:  Verene Shepherd,, (Ed)., Women in Caribbean Histo