Member States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) are among countries that have received favourable ratings in the much lauded Progress of the World’s Women 2000 Report.
This edition of the biennial report was launched on 5 June, 2000 on the opening day of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly Special Session, Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the 21st Century, at the UN Headquarters in New York. The Member States of the Caribbean Community are among the 188 UN Member States participating in the Meeting. The Report was initiated by the United Nations Fund for Women (UNIFEM).
The CARICOM Member States favourable ratings are noted in three categories- the participation of women in politics, the education of the girl child and women, and the undertaking of gender budget initiatives. In these categories, it was remarked that CARICOM Member States had made progress since the 1980s.
The Progress of the World’s Women 2000 investigates women’s status in the context of globalisation from the mid 1980s to the late 1990s. In terms of the areas in which CARICOM Member States received favourable reports, it was noted that while many nations have made advances in these areas, in the area of women’s participation in Parliament, only eight of the world’s countries have met or gone beyond the 50 per cent level agreed upon by world governments at a series of world conferences in the 1990s.
In the case of CARICOM, it was noted by one delegate that the picture in the Region for women is by and large favourable but she stressed that there is still much to be done. It was noted that for the Region, the priority areas for the Region coming out of the Fourth World Conference on Women continue to be, the persistent and increasing burden of poverty on women; inequality in health care and related services, all forms of violence against women and inequality between men and women in the sharing of power (including participation in Parliament) and decision-making.
In the areas of women’s participation in politics and the education of women and the girl child, CARICOM Member States were noted for their achievements. In the category of gender budget initiatives, CARICOM Member States were among a number of developing countries that continue to recognise the need for a gender thrust on economic development issues and take the necessary appropriate action.
“We need to learn from countries where women have achieved 30 percent of seats in Parliament and participation in key decision-making, particularly in the realm of government expenditures and the formulation of economic policy,” said the Executive Director of UNIFEM, Dr. Noeleen Heyzer.
Progress of the World’s Women 2000 provides examples of innovative approaches for increasing accountability and commitment to the world’s women, from providing training to undertake a gender audit of national budgets, developing codes of conduct to increase corporate social responsibility.
The report’s extensive research is supported by detailed accounts of efforts already being made to
ensure women’s fair participation in economic policy making at the national, regional and global levels.
Stories of successful change strategies featured in Progress 2000 include women workers forging new partnerships between corporations and trade unions to improve labour conditions, poor women forming collectives to introduce their products in global markets and negotiate for better terms and prices, and women’s organisations collaborating with governments to recognise how expenditures advance and constrain women’s progress.
