Mary Evelyn Wood (1900 – 1978) was a politician and nurse in the Cayman Islands. She was the first woman elected to the

Legislative Assembly of the Cayman Islands The Parliament of the Cayman Islands is the unicameral legislature of the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands. It is composed of 21 members; 19 elected members for a four-year term and two members ''ex officio''. The Governor may ...

. The daughter of Charles and Julietta Wood, she started a small school in her father's home while she was in her early 20s. Wood trained as a nurse and worked in her community as a nurse, visiting new and expectant mothers and sick persons. She provided care to victims of a

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several d ...

epidemic in the late 1930s. Wood was one of many women who signed a 1957 petition in support of

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

; women gained the vote in 1959. In the same year, she joined the National Democratic Party, serving as treasurer. In 1962, she was elected to the legislative assembly for Bodden Town district. She was not the first woman to serve, however, as Annie Huldah Bodden had been appointed the previous year. Wood was also the first woman in the Cayman Islands to serve on a jury. In 1965, Wood received the Cayman Islands Certificate and Badge of Honour for her service to the community.

References

1900 births 1978 deaths National Democratic Party (Cayman Islands) politicians Members of the Parliament of the Cayman Islands Caymanian women in politics 20th-century British women politicians National Heroes of the Cayman Islands Women's rights in the Cayman Islands {{Caymans-politician-stub