EXCLUSIVE DATA ON WOMEN'S ATTITUDES TOWARDS POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC ISSUES TO BE PRESENTED AT 'BEIJING +5' FORUM

Press Release
DEV/2250
WOM/1209

EXCLUSIVE DATA ON WOMEN'S ATTITUDES TOWARDS POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC ISSUES TO BE PRESENTED AT 'BEIJING +5' FORUM

NEW YORK, 7 June (DESA) -- The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs will organize a forum on Women's Global Access and Leadership on Thursday, 8 June, during the special General Assembly session on Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the Twenty-first Century.

The United Nations has invited the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) to present its worldwide data collection and analysis of trends in women's attitudes and opinions towards political, social and economic issues.

This data illustrates gender-specific viewpoints regarding political, social and economic institutions, decision-making structures and other issues. The data also identifies trends in attitudes and opinions towards women's access and leadership, as well as structural and cultural differences among countries. Specific countries included in this analysis include Belarus, Indonesia, Ghana, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.

The data analysis will be complemented by presentations from women leaders from the Middle East and Africa, Khadija Al-Dubai, Permanent Representative of Yemen to the Islamic Organization for Education, Science and Culture at Morocco, and Khairat Abdul-Razaq Gwadabe, Senator and Chair of the Senate Committee on Women's Affairs and Youth Development of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will present personal case studies of their approaches and obstacles to access and leadership in their countries and regions.

The United Nations and IFES have also partnered with the Vital Voices Global Democracy Initiative of the United States Department of State, and Oxygen Media to make this presentation possible. The data is taken from worldwide public opinion surveys conducted by IFES with local partners, and funded by the United States Agency for International Development.

* *** *