BARRIER BREAKER: BVI honours first female MP with new lecture series

The H. Lavity Stoutt Community College will launch the Millicent Penn Mercer Lecture Series on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, at 5:30 PM at the Eileene L. Parsons Auditorium in Paraquita Bay.

The series honours Penn Mercer, who made history in 1974 as the first woman elected to Parliament and the nation's first female Cabinet Minister. Rochelle M. Smith, Director of the Jennie N. Wheatley Institute for Virgin Islands Studies, characterised Penn Mercer as someone ordinary who accomplished something remarkable.

"She was a teacher, she was a mother, she was a community advocate, and she said women can be involved in the leadership of this territory too," Smith said. Penn Mercer defied convention during an era when women held little presence in political office.

The inaugural event carries the theme 'Women in Politics: Pioneers, Progress & Possibilities'. Staff at the college are preparing the programme with intensity, according to Smith, who noted that the lecture will spotlight female political leaders across the Virgin Islands.

Three women currently hold seats in the House of Assembly: Hon Lorna G. Smith, OBE (AL), Hon Luce D. Hodge-Smith (R4), and Hon Sharie B. de Castro (AL). Smith expressed enthusiasm about using the inaugural lecture to recognise women's political participation in the territory.