Urbanization itself may not be a problem. Poor urban management and deficient national policy frameworks, as well as weak, inefficient and often corrupt urban governance lead to increased marginalisation of the poor and to the proliferation of informal settlements and slums. The magnitude of urban poverty already is such that it cannot be left to market forces to deal with. Economic globalisation puts women, as frequently the poorest group in the society, at an even more disadvantaged economic situation, due to their lack of access to property and productive assets. I note that one of my colleague panelists today, is a member of the this Commission, and I look forward to learning more about its work.
Partnerships go both ways.
A powerful message of the power of networking and partnership. These partners include naturally the central and local governments, as well as women's movements. The situation in the local governance level frequently is better than at the national level, but we are still far from equal representations with men. Mr. Chairman, The figures I have studied for this presentation regarding the equitable sharing of power, land and productive assets, may suggest that globally, from the gender perspective, there is still much to do before we are well ruled.