One in a series emanating from a three-year project concerned with the role of women in the English-speaking Caribbean, this publication discusses female participation in politics in Barbados. Project objectives are to establish in the region a data base for teaching, research, and planning purposes and to develop guidelines for a cohesive social policy that recognizes women's needs and draws on their skills and talents for program planning and execution. Discussed are (1) female participation in local politics, (2) female participation in the Legislative Council, House of Assembly, and Senate, (3) female membership on statutory boards, commissions, and public corporations, (4) female partisan involvement in Barbados, and (5) women and electoral politics in Barbados from 1951 through 1981. In Barbados women still remain largely outside the circle of formal political power interests and are yet to create a distinct political ideology. Appendices contain the names of women who served in the Barbados Legislative Council, Senate, and House of Assembly from 1951 through 1981 and of those who were unsuccessful candidates for the House of Assembly, 1951-1981. An interview with Hazeline Odessa Gittens is also included. (RM)