BPW International Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women Freda Miriklis Second Vice President BPW International Chair UN.

BPW International Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women

Freda MiriklisSecond Vice President BPW InternationalChair UN Status of Women

10/3/2009

BPW International


10/3/2009

What does BPW mean to you?

• Around the world the common association for members is our General Consultative Status to the United Nations

• Ever since our early stages, BPW has been about Women, Development and the United Nations


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Champions

Our rich history reveals a remarkable partnership that

was influence by two women:

Our founder, Dr Lena Madesin Phillips, and

Lifelong champion of international understanding

Esther Hymer


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The Beginning… 1919

• BPW USA is founded in St Louis, Missouri

• League of Nations – precursor to the United Nations – established

• Esther Hymer is a senior at University of Wisconsin


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Esther Hymer

1898 - 2001

• Esther initially volunteers as a background paper writer for the League of Nations

• She continues to volunteer and she attends the founding of the United Nations in 1945


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Lena Madesin Phillips

• Lena undertakes 3 goodwill tours to Europe between 1919 and 1930

• In 1930 she convinces women of the world to form an international organisation to enable women in the business and the professions to have a voice and be influential

• The meeting occurs in Geneva, deliberately chosen due to the link to the League of Nations


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Climate of the Times

In the thirties women everywhere are struggling to obtain:

• voting rights

• equal pay and their proper place in the social, economic and political life of the countries in which they lived

Amongst the limited employment opportunities, the women’s

international movement is nurtured.


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Rapid Growth

By 1939 the International By 1939 the International Federation of Business and Federation of Business and Professional Women has 28 Professional Women has 28

member countriesmember countries


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Opportunity Identified

• Esther identifies the potential value of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the meaningful role she envisages they might take in influencing the policies of the newly formed United Nations

• By December 1945 the International Federation applies for Consultative Status with the UN

• 1978 – Status is upgraded to Category (A)1


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What Category Status means…

It allows our UN Representatives to:

–speak in ECOSOC meetings

–place items on the agenda

–submit written statements directly to the Council

–sit in ECOSOC meetings in a seat reserved for representatives of IFBPW

BPW International Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women10/3/2009

Onwards to CSW…

• 1946 – Eleanor Roosevelt deplores the lack of women at the first General Assembly

• British BPW Federation champions the establishment of a special body – the sub-commission on the Status of Women

• The sub-commission becomes a full commission 12 months later


“For the first time in the history of the women of the world they had an international body, solely devoted to achieving complete equality between the sexes, in political, social, economic and educational life – in effort to raising the status of women everywhere”

Dorothy Hall (BPWUK Secretary)


CSW

• CSW becomes our key forum for exchange of ideas and representation on women’s issues under the guidance of Esther

• Many of the issues considered initially are still relevant today


Initial Issues

•questions of political equality, including the right to vote and to hold office

•civil rights

•problems of marriage

•guardianship of children

•the prevention or eradication of discriminations against women

•the abolition of prostitution

• the right of a woman:

– to keep her own nationality

– to equal educational opportunities

– to hold, administer and inherit property

• the preservation of certain protections for motherhood

• development of provisions for maternal and child care


Esther – our voice

• BPW International grows in activity through the 1950’s at CSW through submissions written by Esther

• Esther is elected chairperson of the NGO Committee of the International Women’s Year in 1975 (a post she held from 1972-82)

• She is appointed Chair for the Decade for Women (a post she held from 1976-85)


UN Conferences of WomenThe revolution of women’s rights gains momentum and this sees the

birth of the United Nations Conferences of Women….

1975 – Mexico City - adopted a World Plan of Action

1980 – Copenhagen - signed the CEDAW by 75 Member States making it a legally binding international instrument

1985 – Nairobi - over 10,000 women attend the World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the UN for Women: Equality, Development and Peace

………And then on to Beijing


Beijing Platform for Action

• Women and poverty

• Education and training of women

• Women and health

• Violence against women

• Women and armed conflict

• Women and the economy

• Women in power and decision-making

• Institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women

• Human rights of women

• Women and the media

• Women and the environment

• The girl child


Beijing Plus

• Sept 1995 IFBPW Statement is issued for circulation at the plenary session of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing

• March 1998 IFBPW Statement on the “Girl Child” & on “Violence Against Women” for the 42nd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women

• March 1999 IFBPW Statement on Health for the 43rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women

• 2000 Beijing plus Five – Special Session of the General Assembly

• 2005 Beijing plus Ten


Other Partnerships• BPW International has formal relationships with other UN specialised agencies which include:

ILO International Labour Organisation UNICEF UN Children’s FundUNIDO UN Industrial Development OrganisationUNCTAD UN Conference on Trade and DevelopmentFAO Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UNILO International Labour OrganisationWHO World Health Organisation

For us, the most important instrument within the UN activities is CEDAW


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UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK


Where we are represented

BPW International maintains permanent

representatives where the UN bodies are located:

»New York

»Geneva

»Vienna

»Paris

»Rome


Regional Commissions

The regional commissions also have representatives who take an active role in their work. These are:

• ECA – Economic Commission of Africa in Addis, Ababa, Ethiopia

• ECE - Economic Commission for Latin America and Caribbean in Santiago, Chile

• ESCAP - Economic and Social Commission for Asia Pacific in Bangkok, Thailand

• ESCWA - Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia in Beirut, Lebanon


Terminology changes…

• Just as BPW has undergone branding changes, the UN has changed titles of accreditations…

• BPW International now holds….

• GENERAL Consultative Status to the United Nations

UN Editorial Team

Members of the UN Editorial Team were approved by the President

The team will work alongside the UN Standing Committee; this is a trial for this term

Committed members that have willingly offered their skills to establish and strengthen internal systems so that we can learn from, inspire and build on each others’ expertise and experience


Reference tool

• BPW/CSW Handbook made available to pre-registered members

• The handbook can be used in conjunction with the NGO/CSW Handbook that is provided to delegates at the NGO Consultation Day

• Members will be better equipped to strengthen their advocacy efforts

UN Representative Directory Pages

• To strengthen the lines of communication to our UN Representatives (internally) by providing profiles of our UN Representatives on Directory Pages on our website

• The profiles will include: a photo, contact details, brief statement on key objectives for the year, themes of their UN Headquarters/Agencies and how members can contribute


Working tool

• BPW/CSW Report Outline that provides a format for members to use to write/type up their experiences from the CSW

• The questions in the outline document act as prompts to issues that are of most interest to BPW such as those that relate to resolutions passed at Congresses

• These reports can aid communication flow between members and the UN Representatives and Chairs of Standing Committees and Taskforces


BPW UN Linkages

1. Better cross linking when BPW and UN priorities align within our core business

2. Better support for our UN Representatives so that they can advise how to better advance BPW’s objectives in the UN environment

3. Better communication between UN Representatives and BPW so that members know about and can contribute to their efforts


Our Story – Our History

How will we narrate the story ahead..

and how will you write your chapter in the International Federation’s history?

“We must be the change we wish to see in the world…”Mahatma Gandhi

BPW International Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women Freda Miriklis Second Vice President BPW International Chair UN.

Documents

vice president chair

international organisation

international movement

professional women

thirties women

bpw usa

general consultative

category status meansit