Announcement
Online Discussion – Women in Power and Decision-Making
Date: 19 January 2010
UNIFEM is pleased to announce a month-long online discussion on “Women in Power and Decision-Making.” It is part of a series of UN online discussions hosted by WomenWatch, dedicated to the fifteen-year review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995), as well as outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly (2000). These discussions will be a contribution to the 54th session of the Commission on the Status of Women to take place 1–12 March 2010.
Click here to sign up and participate in the online discussion.
Online Discussion Topics
The discussion will run for four weeks and address the following issues:
- 20–27January: Achievements
- 28 January – 4 February: Gaps and Challenges
- 5–12 February: Future Actions
- 12–18 February: Summary of the Discussions
The discussion will be moderated by Piyoo Kochar, iKNOW Politics Network Facilitator, on behalf of UNIFEM. iKNOW Politics is a partnership project of UNIFEM with International IDEA, InterParliamentary Union, NDI and UNDP.
Purpose
Promoting women’s role and participation in decision-making and politics is a key priority for UNIFEM. Further, women in power and decision-making is one of the critical areas of concern as identified in the Beijing Platform for Action in 1995. The Beijing Platform for Action notes, “despite the widespread movement towards democratization in most countries, women are largely underrepresented at most levels of government, especially in ministerial and other executive bodies, and have made little progress in attaining political power in legislative bodies or in achieving the target endorsed by the Economic and Social Council of having 30 percent women in positions at the decision-making levels by 1995.”
Key achievements and challenges were identified in the five and ten-year reviews of the Beijing Platform for Action. Since then, there has been much progress, but there are still many serious challenges.
The online discussion will provide an opportunity to share views on achievements, gaps and challenges, and to propose future action. It aims to draw on collective experiences since Beijing and to identify what has worked well and what hasn’t in increasing the number and effectiveness of women in power and positions of decision-making around the world. This is an opportunity for individuals, groups, and networks worldwide to share their knowledge, experiences, concerns and proposals.
