By Lilia Burunciuc, World Bank Division Director for the Caribbean
During one of my visits to Sint Maarten, I spoke with a woman who works as a taxi driver. She had once held a job at a highly seasonal hotel, leaving her with little or no income during the off-season and few opportunities to increase her earnings. Determined to change her situation, she moved into the transport sector, starting out as a taxi driver. She worked long hours during the high season, saved money, and later rented an additional vehicle and hired another driver. Today, she operates two vehicles in addition to her own, with plans to expand. She is dreaming of a house and sending her kids to college.
Over the years, during my visits to Sint Maarten, I have met women like her repeatedly; women who create opportunities for themselves. They are willing to learn new things, take risks, and continue, even when things are hard.
This determination is visible not only in households and small businesses, but also in public life. Today, women hold nearly half of the seats in Sint Maarten’s Parliament - around 46.7 percent - reflecting how widely women are stepping into leadership roles across the island.
The leadership women bring across the island is among Sint Maarten's greatest strengths and a clear economic advantage. Evidence consistently shows that companies with gender-diverse leadership are more likely to outperform others, and closing gender gaps in employment could raise global GDP by more than 20 percent.
Political representation, however, does not automatically translate into broad-based economic opportunity. Many women continue to face constraints that limit their ability to expand businesses, increase incomes, or access capital. Barriers to finance, professional networks, and supportive services still shape how fully their economic potential can be realized.
For a small island economy like Sint Maarten, the implications are particularly significant. With a small population, few sources of economic activity, and exposure to natural shocks, growth depends on making full use of existing talent. When more women are able to earn higher incomes, invest, and grow their businesses, productivity rises, and households become more resilient in times of uncertainty.
This is why women’s economic participation is embedded in the World Bank’s work in Sint Maarten. Through the Sint Maarten Trust Fund, financed by the Government of the Netherlands and managed by the World Bank in partnership with the Government of Sint Maarten, our support in the years following Hurricane Irma went beyond rebuilding homes and critical infrastructure. It also focused on restoring livelihoods, helping small businesses reopen and grow, and giving people the practical skills needed to turn ideas into income. Women were given particular attention in this work.
And the results show how strongly women responded when opportunities were made available.
Through the Emergency Income Support and Training Project, people received temporary income support and practical training to help them find work and resume earning. More than 1,900 people participated in the program, and over 70 percent were women, highlighting both the extent to which the crisis affected women’s employment and their readiness to re-enter the labor market.
The Trust Fund has also provided more than US$19.3 million to over 300 small businesses on the island, and 124 of those were led by women. With this financing, women have opened bakeries, catering services, neighborhood shops, and businesses as diverse as mushroom production. These enterprises are now employing others and keeping economic activity rooted locally. They have also received tailored training and coaching in financial literacy and core business skills, from planning and marketing to tax compliance, giving them the tools to grow sustainably.
This progress matters. It means more women can move beyond subsistence and begin planning for growth, just like the taxi driver I spoke with.
Building on this progress, the priority in Sint Maarten is to expand what works: increasing access to finance, strengthening the link between skills and jobs, and creating support systems that enable people to balance care responsibilities with paid work.
These are the investments that will allow more women, and the island as a whole, to keep moving forward.
Simpson Bay:--- Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIAE) is proud to announce the return of its aviation photography competition, ToppiX, after a 10-year hiatus. Last held in 2016, the competition is making a highly anticipated comeback in 2026, marking a special moment for aviation enthusiasts and the local community.