From DEBRA@OLN.comlink.apc.orgSat Sep 23 09:28:30 1995 Date: Fri, 22 Sep 1995 07:34:00 +0100 From: Debra Guzman Reply to: beijing-conf@tristram.edc.org To: beijing-conf@tristram.edc.org Subject: WCW: As the UN Sees It [The following text is in the "ISO-8859-1" character set] [Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set] [Some characters may be displayed incorrectly] ## author : RACHELE@macc.wisc.edu ## date : 16.09.95 --------------------------------------------------------------------- AS THE UN SEES IT PROFILE OF WOMEN AROUND THE WORLD A month before the World Conference on Women (WCW) got underway in Beijing, the United Nations released a massive statistical analysis entitled Rthe WorldUs Women 1995S to highlight the economic, political and social differences that still separate womenUs and menUs lives and analyze how those differences are changing. The issue of womenUs equality is rapidly moving to the top of the international agenda, but better understanding of both sexUs contributions to society is essential to speed the shift from policy to practice so that womenUs access to education, work opprotunities, health care, justice, and leisure time is equal. Misperceptions abound and many strategies are ill-informed because good information on women has been lacking for decades, according to the report, released August 2 at UN headquarters by top UN officials. Major international conferences on women, which began 20 years ago, along with other UN conferences on population and development, human rights, and the environment have highlighted the need for a better understanding of womenUs issues if the full economic, political and social developments of both men and women are to be realized. Carol Bellamy, executive director of UNICEF, said at a press conference launching the publication that Rthis really is an extraordinary book. If you open this book anywhere you will find extraodinary valuable information; Page 74 the number of women contracting HIV is growing faster than the number of men; pages 91 and 92Q nearly two-thirds of adult women in southern Asia are illiterate and the ratio of girls enrolled inprimary and secondary levels of schooling are far below all other regions except that of sub-saharan Africa; pages 70 and 71Qfemale genital mutilation still occurs in many African countries and a few countries in Asia.S RGender-based violence is a major problem in every country in which it has been studiedQ industrialized countries, developing countries, rich or poor,S Bellamy said. RThe most pervasive form is abuse by a husband or intimate partner.S Bellamy said that UNICEF is particularly pleased that the report underscores the role of fathers as having significant implications for women and highlights the experience of girls because Rdiscrimination doesnUt just start when youUre 18S RFacts such as these, along with the ones showing the progress that has been made as well, is the ammunition we all need in the ongoing struggle for the full equality and empowerment of all women,S she said. RStatistics (are) not something boring but something very interesting. Statistics are an invaluable tool in raising awareness and creating policies and ultimately briging about change,S Bellamy said. When the first issue of RThe WorldUs WomenS came out in 1991, Bellamy noted, Rit was a best seller.... The first print run sold out within a few weeks of being launched and I expect we will see a similar success here. RThe WorldUs Women 1995S provides information and analyses to highlight the differences that still separate womenUs and menUs lives and how these differences are changing. It builds on the first edition which presented statistical summaries of health, schooling, family life, work and public life. Instead of focusing on global figures, the report discuses country data and regional averages providing the most complete presentation available on how women fare in different parts of the world. RYes, there have been imporant changes in the past 25 years and women have generally made steady progress, but it impossible to make sweeping global statements,S the study said. RWomenUs labor force participation rates are up in much of the world, but down in countries wracked by war and economic decline. GirlsU education is improving, but there are hundreds of milllions of illiterate women and girls who do not complete primary schooling, especially in Africa and southern Asia.S RIt is also important to look at a range of indicators,S the study said. RWomenUs political participation may be high in the Nordic countries, but in employment Nordic women still face considerable job segregation and wage discrimination. WomenUs higher education may be widespread in western Asia, but in many of those countries there are few or no women in important political positions and work opportunites are largely limited to unpaid family labor.S Through widespread promotion of universal primary education, literacy rates for women have increased over the past few decades to at least 75 percent in most countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and eastern and south-eastern Asia; but high rates of illiteracy still prevail in much of Africa and parts of Asia. In higher education enrollments, women equal or exceed men in many regions, but in sub-saharan Africa and southern Asia they are far behindQ30 and 38 women per 100 men, the study said. Despite progress in higher education, major obstacles still arise when women strive to translate their high-level education into social and economic advancement, it said. In business, for example, women rarely account for more than 1 or 2 percent of top executives. In health professions and teaching, women are well represented in many countries, but usually at the bottom of the status and wage scales. Jean-Claude Milleron, UN under secretary general for economic and social information and policy analysis, said that Rthe data is interesting but we still have a long way to go to present a comprehensive view of the worldUs women because in many countries the data on women does not exist. ThatUs part of the story.S RWe did our best to present information which is as good as possible with the data that is available today. I hope that in four or five years we will be able to present something that is much more comprehensive,S Milleron further explained. UN officials say they expect the 188-page report to be a major contribution to informed debate on the political, economic and social issues facing women today. A collaborative effort of more than ten UN agencies and divisions, it is an official document of the Fourth International Conference on Women in the Chinese capital September 4 to 15. -Judy Aita(USIA United Nations correspondent)