Women workers in various parts of the country are pioneering a new style of organizing that emphasizes the interconnections between women's responsibilities in the workplace, the family, and the community. The Beijing platform speaks eloquently about the need to recognize and count the value of women's paid and unpaid work. The Universal Declaration proclaims the right to work for a liveable income. A part of the realization of that right for women will be the fair valuation of their work. We need to see it reflected in the spending priorities of our governments at all levels.
Women have a right to participate in the decisions that effect their lives .
At the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, governments pledged to work to bring women's concerns to the center of the policy making process. Now is the time to begin work at the local and state levels, challenging governments to assess every agency and department and the impact of its activities on women in light of its responsibility for gender equality. Women need to follow the work of The President 's Interagency Council for Women, which is responsible for monitoring federal programs and new initiatives that benefit women, as follow up to the Beijing conference. Its work is concerned with many issues including poverty, health, the economy, human rights, power, the environment, the girl child and the media. A woman has a right to access the means to realize her economic, social and cultural rights.