Participants:

Senior government officials and experts, representatives of international organisations, representatives of NGOs

Partner institutions:

The Council of Europe, the European Commission, UNDP and UNIFEM are partners in the preparation of the meeting. The ECE secretariat also works in close co-operation with the Division for the Advancement of Women in order to ensure the link between this regional review and the global review process. Other UN organisations active in the ECE region in the areas to be addressed have also been invited to provide support to the Meeting.

Substantive items of the meeting:

i) Women and the economy:

- Women’s access to employment as a major component of economic and social rights of women. This would include equal employment opportunities and equal treatment, the situation of women migrant workers, social measures for compatibility between work and family responsibility, access to training/science and technology;

- Women’s income across a lifetime, including issues of concern to ageing women

- Role of the State in anti-poverty schemes for women and in the provision of social benefits (including health and pension schemes, unemployment benefits)

- Access to resources and entrepreneurship

ii) Institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women:

- National machineries and action plans for gender equality and the advancement of women

- Gender mainstreaming across governmental structure

- Gender indicators and benchmarks, including best practices and lessons learned

iii) Women and violence

- Trafficking of women

- Violence against women and girls in war/conflict situations

iv) Women in power and decision-making:

- Women in public life and women’s participation in decision-making

Gender mainstreaming is a key issue that will be addressed in ii) above as well as in a cross-sectoral manner.

Each substantive item will be introduced by a panel of 3 persons: one from the governmental side, one from the NGOs and one expert on the subject area. In addition, a woman parliamentarian will participate in the panel introducing the item on women in power and decision-making.

After each panel discussion, there will be an open debate among Member States representatives and representatives of NGOs. Based on the substantive documents prepared for the meeting and the introductory statements by the panellists, the meeting will: i) discuss the major problems which have emerged since Beijing, ii) consider good practices and draw lessons therefrom, and iii) make action-oriented proposals to achieve positive changes.

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