The first female Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community was today congratulated by a women’s leadership group for her groundbreaking achievement.

Members of the Bermuda branch of the International Women’s Forum and sister organisations in the Caribbean welcomed the appointment of Carla Barnett, from Belize, who will take over the role on August 15.

Lynne Woolridge, the president of IWF Bermuda, said: “We are committed to working towards the creation of a common destiny for the people in our region.

“We are therefore looking forward to the advancement of Caricom’s mandate under the leadership of the new Secretary-General.”

She was speaking after the Caribbean Community, also known as Caricom, unanimously voted earlier this month to make Dr Barnett its eighth Secretary-General.

Donna Every, the president of IWF Barbados, said the recognition of Dr Barnett’s “strong leadership skills” was in line with IWF’s goals to increase the number of women’s leadership roles and campaign for equality.

Sonia Browne, the president of IWF Bahamas, added that Dr Barnett’s vision of “one Caribbean people with one common experience and destiny” coincided with the views of IWF presidents around the region.

Dr Barnett was earlier vice president of the Belize Senate and has served in several capacities with the Belizean government.

She has also been deputy governor of the Central Bank of Belize and vice president of operations for the Caribbean Development Bank.