All Constitutions across the region as well as legislation across the region guarantee to some extent, the freedom from discrimination in the labour market. Gender specifically, is covered by equal pay statutes. However, there are gaps and inconsistencies, which allow for the glass ceiling and pay differentials to continue existing irrespective of these very statutory provisions. Several existing Caribbean statutes are in fact in dissonance with the spirit of their Constitutions and in some cases the regional Constitutions are contrary to international labour conventions. These gaps are outlined.

The paper begins with a discussion of the question of fundamental rights and freedoms, using the paradigm of the International Labour Organization (ILO), with special emphasis on the standards relating to gender. It then discusses the regional standards such as those in the CARICOM Declaration of 1995 and the various Protocols relating to the CSME. It reprises earlier work on discrimination in the labour market and more recent findings from an on-going research project on regional (CARICOM/OAS) labour standards.

In the end it evaluates the readiness of the region as a whole and various countries to standardise the conditions related to gender and the challenges presented in the various states.