Commission on the Status of Women to Open Meeting on 27 February
Equal participation of women and men in decision-making processes will be the main focus of this year's Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at its 50th Session, which kicks off on 27 February to 10 March.
Women, in both developed and developing countries still struggle to gain access to high level decision-making positions in all areas of society. Despite some slow progress, women’s overall presence in boardrooms, parliaments and at top levels of international diplomacy is still lagging well behind that of men.
Over 50 high-level government officials and more than 3,000 representatives from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are expected to attend the CSW. Government delegates and NGO representatives will participate in more than 200 side events throughout the two weeks.
The Secretary-General’s report on women in decision-making process is available at: www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/csw50/documents.htm
Highlights of the CSW
- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan will open the International Women's Day event, “Women in Decision-Making: Meeting Challenges, Creating Change”, Wednesday 8 March. Other speakers will include women leaders in politics, human rights, business and academia from India, Kuwait, Norway, South Africa and Venezuela. See http://www.un.org/events/women/iwd/2006/ for details.
- Press conference for International Women's Day, Tuesday 7 March.
- Parliamentary event, “Gender Equality: Making a Difference through Parliament”,Wednesday 1 March, with over 100 women parliamentarians from approximately 40 countries expected to attend.
- Panel event, “Gender Dimensions of International Migration”, Thursday 2 March, Conference Room 2 featuring renowned migration experts.
- UNIFEM event, "Women Making Economic Policy”, Thursday 2 March.
More details on CSW can be found on the website: www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/50sess.htm