In September 1995, thousands of women and men from around the world will meet in Beijing for the Fourth World Conference on Women. Despite the growing evidence that investments in women have an enormous impact on society as a whole, no one can deny that women continue to face discrimination in social, economic, political and cultural spheres. Only four of the 32 UN specialized agencies and programmes are headed by women. Women still lack resources, authority and meaningful decision-making powers.
Women account for two thirds of illiterate people in the world.
At the same time, much of women's daily work is unremunerated and the value of household labour unrecorded. Thirty per cent of them are teenagers. One third of all families worldwide are headed by a woman. These families are often poor and lack financial support from the fathers of the children. Everywhere, women and children are the poorest among the poor.