Closure of the WNC
It was announced today that the WNC will be closed down on 31 December 2010, full details are available here
Review of the WNC
Keep-up with news of the review at our website.
Women at work
The Independent (Saturday) publishes an investigation into the lack of gender equality in British boardrooms, noting that just five FTSE 100 companies have female chief executives and that only 120 women hold directorships of FTSE100 companies, 19 fewer than suggested by Mervyn Davies last week as some women hold more than one post. The paper has produced a league table showing what percentage of each company’s board is female; more than a fifth have no women at all, and even at the two most female-friendly firms, Burberry and Alliance Trust, just 37.5 per cent of board members are women. EHRC spokeswoman: “Workplaces need to change if companies are to attract and retain the best employees. Long hours, a lack of flexible working options and direct discrimination remain some of the biggest barriers to addressing gender inequality in the workplace.” Laura Tennison, Veuve Clicquot businesswoman of the year: “How many women want to become directors of FTSE100 companies? Is it that women have a more balanced view of life and don’t always put career above every other aspect?”
Women in politics
In the Guardian, playwright Gillian Slovo speaks to a selection of leading female politicians, asking why Britain has so few female MPs. Jacqui Smith says Parliament needs to better reflect the country it serves, noting that the House of Commons currently has more MPs called John than MPs who are women. Ann Widdecombe takes a slightly different view, firmly believing that the best-qualified people should become MPs, regardless of their gender.
Violence Against Women
The Sun covers the launch of a campaign by Women’s Aid aimed at raising awareness of domestic violence during the World Cup. The story notes that reports of abuse rose by 30 per cent on England match days during the last tournament four years ago. Women’s Aid chief executive Nicola Harwin: “We know that during big sporting events such as the World Cup there can be a rise in incidents of domestic violence, so now is a very relevant time to raise awareness.”
9th Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers Meeting 5th-6th June 2010
Dear All,
I went on behalf of WNC to the Ninth Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers Meeting in Barbados this week and had a very busy but rewarding time. There were over 100 organisations there and they are given a platform to discuss issues of concern for women on Gender Issues in the Economic Crisis Recovery and Beyond: Women as Agents of Transformation. The discussions focussed on hot topics such as the effects of the financial crisis on women, examining the far-reaching consequences this has had for children, families and communities by increasing their vulnerability to disaster risks. Thank you to all those who gave us your views. I fed those in as far as possible.
I met many great women, many from the Caribbean but also from Malaysia, Malta, Canada and also representatives on climate change and disaster management. I spoke on ‘Partnerships and Networks for Achieving Gender Equality’ and had some very nice feedback about the WNC model and the work we do.
I was lucky enough to be asked to be part of the drafting Committee which worked on the final statement. There was much to be cut down as there was so much to say! The outcomes of two days of dialogue were whittled down into a final Statement that has now been presented to Ministers.
The Statement suggests that Member States achieve this goal through supporting capacity building and providing space for public advocacy among women as well as providing gender training for Parliamentarians and their advisors. It supported the full implementation of CEDAW and other documents like the Beijing Platform for Action as well as the UN Gender Architecture and recommended formal mechanisms for engagement with women including women from diverse groups.
Women felt strongly that there is still much to be done for women around the Commonwealth and sharing good practice and coming together to give voice to their needs and experiences was felt by all to be a hugely worthwhile event.
A very successful and interesting time!
Sue
Susan Green
Women at Work
The Times, the Independent and BBC Online look at the new Corporate Governance Code, published today by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). Most coverage focuses on the FRC’s call to get more women into the boardroom by “[paying] due regard for the benefits of diversity on the board, including gender”. Lynne Featherstone: “Half of all consumers are female but only 12 per cent of FTSE 100 directors are, so I’m pleased to see the FRC recognising the need to get more women into the boardroom. A more equal workplace is a more successful workplace and the stronger provision on gender diversity in the new Code is an important step towards building a fair and equal society by tackling discrimination at work.” Baroness Hogg, chair of the FRC: “People who read the code might be inclined to ask questions of major companies who have no women on the board.” David Prosser, Independent columnist: “Lynne Featherstone, the Equalities Minister, describes the new code as ‘an important step’ … but it will be interesting to see whether her colleagues in Cabinet – more male than it has been for a considerable period – want to do more.”
A quarter of female students have been sexually assaulted
Mail covers NUS research that has found that a quarter of female students have been sexually assaulted and that one in seven had been the victim of a serious sexual or physical assault. However it also found that few go to the Police and than four in ten feared they’d be blamed. Olivia Bailey, NUS Women’s Officer (and WNC Commissioner): “It is particularly worrying that the perpitrators in many cases are fellow students. Women students can be left feeling like they are to blame for the violence committed against them.”
Day 18. Reflections of the 54th Session of CSW
13 March, 2010 19:09
It is Saturday, 13th March, and I am on my way back to the UK. It has been an unusual Session of CSW and I thought it might be useful to concentrate on some of the highs and lows from the last two weeks from a personal perspective.
I know that many of you will have your own thoughts and ideas and we would be delighted to hear from you and to share those more widely with our partners. We are beginning to plan for our annual post CSW event so we would be very pleased to see you there. We will send out invitations shortly. For those of you who were not able to attend CSW in person, we would be delighted to know about how you thought we were keeping in touch with you and what more we can do in the future.
Let’s start with devolution. An NGO representative from Scotland raised an important point last week; how much liaison there was with the Devolved Administrations on the correct UK language and ‘negotiating lines to take’ as policies may understandably be different. It was clear that much more effort now goes on to engage with Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales in the run up to CSW but WNC partners may be interested in seeing how those issues could be better developed and national interests reflected more fully in the text and all four nations engaged with the process. We will certainly take this forward with WNC partners and UK governments following this session of CSW.
I was struck with the shift in approach by the USA. Joyce and I had already visited the White House of course, and we were aware of their Office of Public Engagement and its aims to increase outreach. But there was a huge team present at CSW, they were highly visible at all the sessions and side events, culminating with the visit of Hilary Clinton, so it is evident they are much more engaged with the process. Their language input to the negotiations is significantly different and their commitment to introduce the Maternal Mortality and Morbidity resolution was commendable and will be an important signal to many States present; particularly developing nations.
As always, I have been impressed with the tenacity of the NGOs here and the different things they bring to the table. Their diversity, enthusiasm, knowledge, experience and commitment has been palpable. Their concerns at a lack of a meaningful and collaborative outcome document, their frustration with the lack of organisation and their disappointment about general lack of engagement on many levels, soon turned to resolute determination. They quickly mobilised themselves through a multitude over overlapping networks and had drafted letters to the UN and national delegations. They resolved to ensure this did not happen again, through renewed and targeted dialogue and we are committed to doing our bit to help with that ans will be in touch with the Government on return.
I have been disappointed that the EU still appears to be split with its approach to agreed Beijing text, particularly in the area of sexual and reproductive health rights. But the Spanish Presidency’s leadership of this session has generally been regarded as good and we had feedback through our own delegation that the EU fought hard to maintain, and where possible, expand existing text to recognise changing situations and areas that clearly need to be prioritised as there has been insufficient progression. But our strength is in our unity and one hopes that a solution can be found to find consensus.
We were again most grateful to the UK Mission in New York and the UK Delegation who were visiting from London. The NGOs were again treated to the Ambassador’s Reception, and additional event organised at the specific request of the UK Minister Harriet Harman and formal briefing sessions on the Gender Entity and 1325. This is in addition to evening update meetings and me bothering them for information on your behalf. It is often said that we are the envy of the world because of the positive relationship of the UK Government and its NGOs and this was really brought home to me as I attended events to speak about the work of the WNC and the unique role that we play at CSW where I was asked to speak with other national delegations to share good practice.
So that is it for this year. The promotion of, and commitment to, the proposed Gender Entity is probably the most lasting outcome from this Session and we will keep a watching brief to see whether the resolution does indeed send a strong signal throughout the UN for greater coherence of the women’s agenda.
Thanks to you all for your friendship and support
Best Wishes
Barbara
12 March, 2010 23:10
Dear friends,
It is day 17, and the final day of CSW. Negotiations on many of the resolutions went on well into the night and I have been feeding in the comments of NGOs who have asked us to make some late interventions on the language. I am sorry that it has been so difficult to get hold of electronic text this year but I have been most grateful to NGOs in the UK and present here in New York for actively engaging in this process when it has been possible.
This morning has seen the introduction and adoption of resolutions after negotiations went on late yesterday. Much of the morning session was spent discussing the US led resolution on Eliminating Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Through the Empowerment of Women. A significant number of amendments were made to the draft text, having taken into account long and detailed discussions during the last 24 hours. The UK co-sponsored the resolution; the only EU country to do so. Countries such New Zealand and Norway spoke in strong support of the resolution which they felt would demonstrate political leadership and help drive MDG 5. More cautious responses were received from Ireland, Malta, Poland and Chile; the latter States taking a strong stance about the wording relating to health and reproductive services and the link to abortion. In contrast, Sweden, Denmark and Finland welcomed the resolution but confirmed that they would have liked to have seen the inclusion of even more progressive language to empower women further.
The resolution was adopted, as was the resolution on the Release of Women and Children Taken Hostage, Including those Subsequently Imprisoned, in Armed Conflicts. The resolution on the Situation of and Assistance to Palestinian Women generated a number of interventions. The following vote yielded 31 supporting votes, 2 objections and 10 abstentions. This was followed by the introduction of the resolution on Ending Female Genital Mutilation which generated a number of passionate and powerful interventions, which received widespread support and the resolution was swiftly adopted.
To conclude the morning session we moved on to the resolution entitled Strengthening Institutional Arrangements of the UN for support of Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women by Consolidating the Four Existing Offices into a Composite Entity which was introduced by Egypt. The resolution was co-sponsored by 174 counties, with a further 15 States supporting the resolution during the debate. It was recognised that the high number of States supporting these measures reflected the political affirmation to cementing Beijing goals. There were calls for the General Assembly to take this forward this year and the resolution was adopted accordingly.
The afternoon session has brought increased security with Hilary Clinton attending CSW to make a statement. Unfortunately this was an invitation only meeting, with no official nor NGO access, which was disappointing and added to many NGOs sense of marginalisation at this event. Back in the main Session, Namibia presented late textual amendments to their resolution on Women, the Girl Child and HIV and AIDS. The oral revisions were accepted and the resolution was adopted. The meeting was suspended this point, because of disagreements on the Economic Empowerment resolution adding the only real element of drama to this year’s proceedings as States attempted to get consensus on the emerging text.
The Session resumed about an hour and a half later and the Commission addressed the final resolution which was Women’s Economic Empowerment. There were a number of amendments that were updated verbally and the resolution was agreed. Two countries took the opportunity to make some interventions to highlight their concerns that two States had objected to the inclusion of obstacles to women’s empowerment which included foreign occupation and colonial domination. The UK co-sponsored the resolution which was then adopted.
The 54th Session of CSW then closed some 15 minutes early (possibly a record) with the completion of final technical business items and some closing speeches. Despite the upbeat speeches one could not help observe that they fell a little hollow and an opportunity had been missed. But all were united in the continuing importance of the Commission on the Status of Women and the 55th Session.
Best Wishes,
Barbara
