OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE on the ' Fourth World Conference on Women'
Date: 1995-07-06
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: UN Conference, gender equality, participation of women, position of women, social development













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51995IE0803

OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE on the ' Fourth World Conference on Women'  


Official Journal C 256 , 02/10/1995 P. 0028 





Opinion on the  'Fourth World Conference on Women'(95/C 256/09)On 23  February 1995, the Economic and  Social Committee, acting under the third paragraph of Rule 23 of its Rules of Procedure, decided to  draw up an Opinion on the 'Fourth World Conference on Women'. The Section for External Relations, Trade and Development Policy, which was responsible for  preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its Opinion on 21  June 1995. The Rapporteur  was Mrs Costa Macedo. At its 327th Plenary Session (meeting of 6  July 1995), the Economic and Social Committee adopted  the following Opinion by a majority with ten abstentions. 1. Introduction1.1. The third UN World Conference on Women, held in Nairobi in 1985,  approved implementation of forward-looking action strategies for promoting women and recommended  measures for achieving these. 1.2. It will thus fall to the Beijing Conference (4-15  September 1995) to assess progress  throughout the world in human rights and the promotion of fundamental rights and freedom for women;  the Conference is also to discuss the upsurge in poverty amongst women. 1.3. Given the importance of the conclusions of the Rio Conference on the environment and  development, the Vienna Conference on human rights, the Cairo Conference on population and  development and the World Summit in Copenhagen on social development, it is imperative that the  final document of the Beijing Conference be in keeping with the decisions adopted at these other  Conferences. 1.4. The General Assembly of the UN held on 13  December 1985 defined both the strategic objective  of the preparatory meetings of the conference for that decade and the priority objective of its  work as being the fight for equality, development and peace and the adoption of the most suitable  measures for achieving these objectives in a realistic, practical fashion. The idea is that the  main debate of the 1995 conference should focus on the path to follow to promote women in all  countries, taking account of their cultural diversity and different economic circumstances. 1.5. The main aim of the 1995 conference is to review the world-wide situation and to assess  progress in women's circumstances in the light of the objectives and strategies defined in Nairobi.  This aim thus a) presupposes the political will to adopt a platform for more forceful action,  stressing key questions which are seen as the main obstacles to development and advancement for the  majority of women in the world and b) involves setting priorities for implementing a new programme  during the 1996-2001 period. 1.6. This new 'Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women - Equality, Development  and Peace' currently under discussion is therefore to be defined and adopted in Beijing in   September 1995. This 'platform' defines key areas for action where basic shortcomings still exist,  including those relating to the way decision-making powers are shared between men and women;  respect of women's fundamental rights; real access for women to basic education and health  services; equal participation in economic life, recognition of women's contribution to the economy  and the sharing of family and work responsibilities between men and women; and moves to combat  violence against women. This platform is also to propose new national and international mechanisms  for boosting equal development and participation for women. 1.7. The Committee stresses the fact that women world-wide make up more than half of the  population; they, together with their children, constitute the large majority of those living in  poverty and suffer all kinds of disadvantages, in particular because of their lack of education and  vocational training. This impact has far-reaching repercussions on their ability to exercise rights  and duties and meet responsibilities, and consequently affects all life in society; the Beijing  Conference must therefore come up with a final document which is capable of providing a new  momentum in the promotion of women's rights and responsibilities throughout the world. 1.8. This therefore requires that the Conference adopt decisions on feasible objectives which are  realistic enough to instigate the changes needed throughout the world, so that the Conference's  final document in fact develops into an instrument which can be applied in a whole series of  different cultural, social and economic environments, and leads to new commitment to equal  opportunities and women's advancement; these matters should not be viewed as marginal issues which  only concern women, but as political issues which concern the whole of society, constitute a key  factor in development and affect democracy. 2. General comments2.1. The Committee recognizes the importance of the Fourth World Conference  on Women and believes that this event can help establish effective equal opportunities, genuine  improvements in women's living conditions and increased development which would allow all women to  declare and claim their due. 2.2. It should nonetheless be noted that promoting equal opportunities between men and women is not  simply a matter of applying laws or adopting new legislation or new measures. It is much more  fundamental than that: it involves a choice of society and development model, which in turn should  involve a change in attitude and behaviour and mean that segregation and discrimination can  effectively be overcome. 2.3. The Committee feels that it must be stressed at this point that the strategies for promoting  equal rights and opportunities and equal freedoms and progress for all women and men must involve: - establishing specific measures for improving women's circumstances in practice, particularly as  regards employment; - setting up contact and exchange networks; - developing training programmes and awareness and information campaigns and crucial health and  education programmes to counteract the continual physical violation of women's and girls' human  rights; - financing specific positive action measures, particularly to help women in the poorest  categories, but also to secure equal participation for women in decision-making. 2.4. It is therefore important to focus development dynamics in this way on those practices and  models liable a) to solve the problems and overcome the common obstacles encountered by a majority  of women in the world and b) to redress present inequalities, encouraging the various operators  concerned to mobilize resources, so as to make it possible to identify more quickly which are the  best routes to suitable, definitive solutions. 2.5. The Community and its Institutions have been a driving force in promoting equal opportunities  between men and women. By adopting appropriate legislation and action programmes to promote equal  opportunities between men and women since 1975, the Community has gradually defined and expanded  the field of application of the equality principle already stated in Article  119 of the Treaty,  but limited to equal pay for equal work. 2.6. Recognizing the positive, stimulating impact of Commission action to encourage well-integrated  development by Member States, the Committee nevertheless feels that moves to expand and consolidate  existing Community legislation in this area should be continued and stepped up so as to cope with  the new socio-economic context and new challenges in the 21st century. 2.7. The Committee's interest in the Beijing Conference, and indeed the interest of the European  Community as a whole, stems from a common concern that the principles of equality and parity in  democracy be applied in promoting women's status in all Member States. In view of the European  Union's key commitment to development cooperation, it can help ensure that more account is taken of  women's problems throughout the world, particularly in developing countries. 2.8. Against this background, the Committee reaffirms the Union's general responsibility for  promoting and protecting universal human rights, of which women's rights form an integral,  inalienable and inseparable part. Indeed, even within the European Union women do not yet enjoy  their rights fully in the same way as men due largely to certain cultural and social attitudes. It  is therefore recommended that institutions draw up programmes and measures to boost women's powers  and responsibilities, not only to improve their status but to improve society as a whole, with a  view to achieving social justice and strengthening democracy. 2.9. The following concerns have been identified at the regional preparatory meetings for the  Beijing Conference, including the Vienna meeting, and confirmed at the last preparatory Committee  meeting in New York. The Committee feels that these are most important: - inadequate promotion and protection of human rights for women; - an increasing number of women in poverty; - insufficient awareness of women's contribution to the economy in the context of sustainable  development, together with inadequate promotion of their potential; - not enough instances of de facto equality between sexes in employment and in economic and  political opportunities, and inadequate measures for reconciling work and family responsibilities; - not enough women involved in political life; - inadequate statistical systems, data bases and methods to be able to outline policies and  legislation with a full knowledge of the facts involved, and to secure equal opportunities between  men and women; and- inadequate intra- and inter-regional networks for improving women's  circumstances. 2.10. Highlighting the Resolution adopted by the Social Affairs Council of Ministers on 27  March  1995 on balanced participation by men and women in political decision-making, the Committee  underlines the need for all the Member States to strengthen mechanisms for boosting equality not  only at national, but also at regional and local level, inter alia to respond to women's  requirements for information. In addition, all European institutions need to develop mechanisms to  ensure that equal opportunities criteria and objectives are mainstreamed into their specific areas  of responsibility. 2.11. The Committee also feels that assistance should be stepped up for actions undertaken within  the Community equality networks set up by the European Commission, which involve representatives  from all Member States. 2.12. The Committee endorses the broad series of measures proposed by the Vienna platform. These  include specific recommendations, the implementation of which will fall to governments, but they  also refer to the predominant role to be played by the NGOs, international, regional and  sub-regional bodies and operators in development cooperation. 2.13. The Committee underlines the need and the responsibility for monitoring follow-up which must  be entrusted to the European Union, the European Commission and national equality mechanisms, in  keeping with these bodies' respective powers. Given that the preparatory meetings have already paid  special attention to mobilization of financial resources for the new strategies to be adopted, the  Committee endorses the idea of establishing global objectives for mobilizing resources. 2.14. In the light of the Vienna Conference negotiations, the Committee considers 0,7% of GNP to be  a fair allocation for official development aid. It recommends that this decision be implemented  speedily and backed up by strict assessment and follow-up mechanisms. 2.15. From a general point of view, the Committee urges that the decisions relating to women taken  at the Conference on the Environment in Rio de Janeiro, the Vienna Human Rights Conference, the  Cairo Conference on Population and the Social Summit in Copenhagen be confirmed and fleshed out in  the decisions taken at the Fourth World Conference on Women. 3. Specific comments3.1. The Economic and Social Committee has taken careful note of the  principles set out in Nairobi by the United Nations on examination of the application of  forward-looking strategies for action; the Committee proposes that an international mechanism be  established to monitor application of the international development strategy as it affects women in  this specific context. 3.2. Over and above the general intentions of defining measures for dealing with the numerous  obstacles to women participating more in the world of work and in society on an equal footing with  men, the Committee highlights the urgent need to: - apply effectively current measures to boost women's integration in the labour market, - intensify the efforts to reach the goal of equal pay, - improve their working conditions and social protection, particularly in the many atypical forms  of work situations, such as part-time work, work at home and contract work, as well as work in free  zones, where mainly women are employed, - improve their opportunities for professional advancement, - secure an equal division of family and work responsibilities between men and women, - so as to give shape to a key dimension of the strategy for economic and social cohesion in  Europe, and as a condition for sustainable development in the rest of the world. 3.2.1. Faced with all the changes expected in this last decade of the millennium, Europe for its  part will need skilled labour, and here women's contribution will be a determining factor. However,  in most Member States women often represent an under-used source of labour and, to a considerable  extent, women still fill low-skilled jobs, often with little job security. The Committee is aware  of this and notes that the gap is widening between male and female unemployment rates (7% and 12%  respectively) in the European Union as a whole. Even more worrying is the increase in the number of  long-term unemployed women, who today constitute 55% of all long-term unemployed and are  encountering particularly serious difficulties in finding employment again. 3.2.2. In the developing countries, taking account of the indicators which show that in most of  these countries women make up more than 50% of the rural population and between 50 and 70% of the  agricultural workforce, the Committee feels that there is a pressing need for world-wide  recognition and appreciation of the many contributions which women from rural and farming  environments make to the family, community and society in general, particularly their role in  environmental conservation. It should also be pointed out that in these countries women represent a  significant force in agriculture; their contribution to the gross domestic product is estimated at  35 to 45% and they produce more than 50% of the developing world's foodstuffs. However, more than  500 million of them live in poverty, are often reduced to subsistence farming and do not have  access to resources or markets. 3.2.3. Moreover, the Committee recommends that special attention be devoted to the problems  associated with women in rural areas - particularly those involved in farming who continue to be  cut off from know-how and practice in modern farming technologies. These new technologies usually accrue to men, either because of the existing male/female  relationships, or because of programmes which are mainly directed at men. They are often  implemented at the expense of the prevailing land use by women. Action must therefore be taken to remedy the generally disadvantaged conditions under which women  in the poorest countries live and work, by involving them as both participants and beneficiaries in  programmes and development projects aiming to improve rural living standards. 3.2.4. Moreover, the Committee points out that as a result of economic developments at  international level (industrial restructuring, structural adjustment programmes), the employment  situation for women in developing countries has deteriorated and women are increasingly having to  turn to insecure, low-paid and vulnerable jobs. 3.2.5. Through both its aid policy and its trade policy, the EU can create conditions which will  underpin the improvement of the position of women in developing countries. Through its aid policy  the EU can introduce 'positive discrimination' in favour of countries which respect internationally  recognized women's rights. In the trade context the EU should argue strongly in international fora  for the inclusion of a social clause in international trade agreements within the WTO. 3.2.6. The Committee would also draw attention to the increasingly difficult situation of women in  the countries of central and eastern Europe currently undergoing transition. It considers that the  European Union has a particular responsibility towards these countries and the women who live  there, especially on the basis of current and future agreements. 3.3. So that the objectives of a policy promoting equality can be fully attained, the Committee  feels it is most important that three basic principles of the Community's third programme of  medium-term actions (1991-1995) be put into practice: - an integrated approach allowing combined, complementary use of the various measures; - a partnership policy allowing all operators concerned to be mobilized; - regular assessment of programmes and measures and establishment of assessment tools which are  better suited to the Community context. 3.4. The Committee believes that equality objectives should feature strongly in all economic  policies. It endorses the Commission's proposal to establish a new fourth medium-term action  programme for equal opportunities, the main objective of which is to help promote women's  participation on the labour market. The Committee will be able to make a useful contribution here  on the basis of its expertise and representative nature. 3.5. From the main questions and concerns raised in the preparatory meetings it is clear that the  European Community and its Institutions can provide key assistance in drawing up suitable responses  to the following problems: women's situations in armed conflicts and their part in establishing  peace (this is a highly topical question for the four platforms in the south); the need for women  to be represented in the media in a less stereotyped fashion; unequal access for women to education  and health; insufficient attention being paid to women's potential role in environmental matters;  inadequacy of mechanisms, which encourages discrimination against women and girls; women's key role  in culture, family and integration into society; equality of the sexes in an approach geared to  women in economic and social development; the unequal sharing between men and women of professional  and family responsibilities and recognition of women's intellectual and technical abilities. 3.6. Given Community legislation to date, which respects women's rights, the Committee readily  supports the guidelines put forward by the Commission during the preparatory process in its  Communication to the Council of 31  May 1995, and feels it would be of benefit to all parties  concerned for the European Union to be involved, not only in the prior negotiations but also in the  Beijing Conference itself. 3.7. On the basis of its various Opinions and its powers, the Committee is also willing to help  improve existing legislation and to give assistance in drawing up and adopting draft directives,  aimed at eliminating 'indirect discrimination' and implementing the principle of the 'equal pay for  equal work'. The Committee has already issued an Opinion on application of the principle of equal  opportunities between men and women working on a freelance basis, including farming (), as well as  on protection of maternity benefits and on parental leave and leave on family grounds, stressing  the urgent need for measures to make it easier to reconcile family and professional  responsibilities (). 3.8. The Committee urges Member States of the EU which have not yet ratified the main relevant  Conventions of the ILO, such as the Convention on discrimination in jobs and professions (No  111),  and the Convention on workers with family responsibilities (No  156), to check whether they can  still do so in the short term. It calls upon the European Union to take the lead in an  international campaign to have these Conventions ratified by as many states as possible, along with  Convention No  100 (equal pay). 3.9. In view of the very nature, responsibilities and objectives of the Economic and Social  Committee and considering its actions and its experience, the Committee has asked to be represented  in the European Community's delegation to the Beijing Conference. 4. ConclusionSupport for the Conference's objectives4.1. The Committee acknowledges the  importance of the 1995 Beijing Conference, highlighting its principle aim, which is to take stock  of the last Decade launched by the Nairobi Conference in 1985, to assess world-wide progress in  securing human rights and in promoting women's rights and basic freedoms, and above all to  recommend to decision-makers the world over new specific measures for promoting women and equal  opportunities. Upgrading women's role in society4.2. The Committee would draw attention to the fact that,  world-wide, women constitute more than half of the population, and it has been calculated that the  number of women among those living in poverty has increased by more than 50% over the last 20  years. This has been caused by a variety of factors: the current economic crises, the deterioration  in development aid and terms of trade, the increase in internal and external debt, inadequate  resource distribution, political and social instability and systemic recession, amongst other  complications. The increase in female poverty requires operational strategies and action programmes  which are focused on women's economic, cultural and social needs and their welfare, so that women's  role in families and in communities can be acknowledged and shared by men. This productive and  social role must be properly secured in all development aid measures and in the allocation of  adequate resources. In particular women need better access to education as this is one of the chief  routes to reducing infant mortality and to improving women's status. Action plans in developing countries4.3. The Committee feels that the aims and objectives of the  Decade - equality, development and peace - have not been fully achieved. It believes that it is  most urgent to encourage the distribution of multilateral and bilateral aid for developing  countries in such a way that action plans are established which can be expressed in quantitative  terms, monitored and adjusted and which set out precise objectives and a strict timetable. This  would be aimed at dealing with the problems preventing the consolidation of women's status. The  action plans will have to take account of women's cultural and religious environment. They will of  course have to be backed up by institutional and financial mechanisms to enable them to be  implemented. European Union policy on social issues to provide a model4.4. Bearing in mind the Union's  determination to tackle problems and face up to the current economic and social changes in the  countries of the European Union, the Committee acknowledges the contribution of the White Paper on  social policy which follows on from the Green Paper; it feels that the proposals made therein, and  the favourable response with which it has met, can be powerful instruments for giving a certain  impetus in the areas concerned, particularly in matters relating to a combined policy for the  labour market and social issues. 4.5. Consequently the Committee hopes to see the European Union promoting the same principles at  international level and providing an original and effective response to the main problems facing  the world and women in particular today, by proposing new models based on experience gained in  Europe. Main objectives ascribed to the European Union4.6. The adoption and implementation of strategic  objectives which allow women economic independence: - access to schooling and vocational training; - access to health education and training; - access not only to the resources necessary for decent living conditions but also to the means and  measures to alleviate their excessive family burdens and reconcile working time with family time. The Committee wants the European Union to support and propose these fundamental, decisive factors  at the Beijing Conference, so that all women can escape once and for all from poverty and violence,  participate in the decision-making process and stand up to all forms of discrimination. Recommendations to UN Member Countries4.7. Mindful of the major cooperation commitments for  development and active solidarity required to achieve equality, the Committee calls on the Member  States of the UN: - to encourage implementation of the recommendations needed for the changes called for; - to guarantee women's and girls' rights and counter the continuous violations of their dignity; - to ensure women's full access to their fundamental rights as an integral, inalienable and  inseparable part of universal human rights, which underlie the entire democratic process; - to give priority to women's education and training; - to adopt resolutions which unambiguously set out political measures which would effectively  enable women to be independent and enterprising and to be more consciously involved in taking  decisions which affect the socio-economic framework in which they live. Follow-up to the Beijing Conference4.8. Moreover, the Committee feels that the Beijing Conference  ought to secure, in all clarity and transparency, an unqualified final document guaranteed by a  solidarity-based platform which should allow swift application of priority measures in all areas  for securing women's dignity, equality and freedom, so that the value of women's key contribution  to the economy, culture and progress can be enhanced and appreciated. 4.9. Finally, the Committee confirms the crucial need to negotiate with all the parties involved,  and adopt specific measures to counter exclusion with all the parties involved, and proposes that  mechanisms be adopted which ensure that all anti-poverty programmes give priority to the basic  socio-economic needs of women. 4.10. The Committee continues to advocate a strategy involving NGOs, reinforcing their status and  capabilities and also involving all social and cultural partners in their capacity as key  protagonists in promoting women's status, so as to secure the drive for development and for the  fight for freedom, justice and peace - values which are essential for human progress. Done at Brussels, 6  July 1995. The Presidentof the Economic and Social CommitteeCarlos FERRER() OJ No C 95,  11. 4. 1988.  () OJ No C 41, 18. 2. 1991; OJ No C 40, 17. 2. 1992; OJ No C 14, 20. 1. 1992.