Document 84: "International Affairs," in Susanna Downie, Decade of Achievement: 1977-1987: A Report on a survey Based on the National Plan of Action for Women (Washington, D.C.: National Women's Conference Committee, 1988), pp. 48-51.
p. 48
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
NATIONAL PLAN GOALS
WOMEN AND FOREIGN POLICY: •more women, of all racial and ethnic backgrounds, should participate in the formulation and execution of all aspects of United States foreign policy •increase the number of women at all grade levels within foreign affairs agencies, including embassies and commissions •a permanent advisory committee to the State Department, composed of a majority of women, to advise on the selection of women candidates for these positions.
UN COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN: •adequate funding of the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT: •integration of women into the development plans for their respective countries, plus more adequate study of the impact on women in the developing world of the US Government aid and commercial development programs •women of these countries should be involved in determining their own needs and priorities in programs intended for their benefit.
HUMAN RIGHTS TREATIES AND INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS FOR WOMEN: •ratification and compliance with international human rights treaties, with special notice for the situation of women victims of oppression, political imprisonment and torture.
PEACE AND DISARMAMENT: •more serious disarmament negotiations •reduce military spending, convert excessive weapons manufacturing capacity to production for meeting human needs •peace education in the schools, funding for advanced study in conflict resolution and peacekeeping •US to take the lead in phasing out nuclear arsenals.
INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION AND COMMUNITICATION: •more education and communication about international developments, emphasizing women's present and potential contribution to economic and social well-being.
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DECADE: •US funding for the UN Decade for Women meetings and activities, and full US participation in the 1985 World Conference to review the Decade.
THE DECADE:
The Decade ended in 1985 at the UN World Conference in Nairobi. Women who attended the NGO Forum numbered at least 12,000, almost double the number that attended the mid-decade conference in Copenhagen in 1980, and four times the number at Mexico City in 1975. There was strong sentiment at the NGO Forum in Nairobi for another world meeting in 1990, to continue the immensely valuable networking and information sharing that the three world conferences of the Decade have provided. At the Government-to-Government Conference, the Soviet Union proposed another world meeting in 1990 and many countries supported this proposal, but it was shot down by the US delegation, and vague language about holding another world conference "at least once between 1985 and the year 2000" was all that was included in the Forward Looking Strategies, the official document of the Conference. As of 1987, the Commission on the Status of Women is meeting annually. It will have an expanded meeting in 1990, and will by then have made a decision about whether the next world meeting will be held in 1993 or 1995. Country Reports on progress on CEDAW are being heard in 1988.
CEDAW:
"…the full and complete development of a country, the welfare of the world, and the cause of peace require the maximum participation of women on equal terms with men in all fields…"
(from the preamble to the Convention).
The International Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women can be traced back to 1946, when the UN created the UN Commission the Status of Women. The Commission began addressing issues of inequality, issuing Conventions on Political Rights, and Married Women, and in 1967, a Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. During the Decade for Women (1975-1985), the Declaration was refined and expanded to become the present Convention, which was introduced in 1980, at the Copenhagen Mid-Decade UN Conference. The United States and 77 other countries became signatories at that time, indicating broad agreement with the principles of the Convention.
As of 1987, over 60% of the countries of the world, 93 countries, have now ratified the Convention, but the US is not one of them. Ratification means a committment to implement the Convention, not just agreement in principle. The Convention has been described as an ERA for the world, only it is much more spelled out, more like the National Plan of Action for Women in its specificity. Support groups in the US are organizing lobbying in the Senate, which is the body which ratifies treaties and conventions:
•The International Women's Rights Action Watch (IWRAW), was organized in 1986 by Arvonne
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WOMEN AT THE UNITED NATIONS
Though the UN has a strong and progressive record on paper, particularly Article 8 of the UN Charter, its implementation of measures to employ women more equitably in its own offices and agencies has been dismally slow. The Group on Equal Rights for Women was established in 1971 to push for fulfillment of the promise of Article 8, but there is very little good news 17 years later. Although women hold 23% of professional level positions (P-1 through Secretary General), 96% of those women are in the lower half (P-5 and below) of the scale. Women's representation in member state delegations has not changed from its 1975 level of 7.6%, and most of these women are junior secretaries or attaches. Only 4 (out of 204) Ambassadors are women. But the Group on Equal Rights is stronger now, more visible, and does thorough and regular documentation of the situation, much of which is carried in their newsletter, Equal Times.
DEVELOPMENT/DEVELOPMENT EDUCATION
OEF INTERNATIONAL/WOMEN AND WORLD HUNGER PROJECT: OEF International (formerly Overseas Education Foundation) was founded in 1941, by the League of Women Voters, as a private voluntary organization to improve the economic condition of low income Third World women. In the course of providing training and technical assistance to poor women in over 70 countries, over a period of more than 30 years, they became aware of how much women's agricultural work contributes to the economy of Third World countries, how "Development" has worked to the detriment of many of these women, and how hunger in the Third World would be significantly lessened if Development planners would pay more attention the effects of Development on women. The Women and World Hunger Project was initiated in 1982 to educate the American public, especially women, about these issues and to mobilize support for efforts in Third World countries to promote and enhance women's well-being. OEF is an important source of information on all of these issues. (See Resources/publications. p. 51.)
TRICKLE UP: The Trickle Up Program (TUP) was started in 1979 by Mildred Robbins Leet and Glen Leet to address the problems of poverty in low income populations by providing small amounts of capital to groups of five or more who have an income generating idea and need startup funds. 70% of TUPs beneficiaries are women. In the eight years since its inception, TUP has fostered 4,013 business enterprises in 90 countries, involving 36,000 entrepreneurs. The projects are coordinated through a network of 805 volunteers (world-wide) who are usually development workers or professionals in the field. In May 1987, TUP was granted Consultative Status by the UN (Economic and Social Council).
AWID: Another achievement of the decade is the founding of the Association for Women in Development (AWID), in 1982. AWID forms an important link between academic writers and researchers, policy makers, and staff people from all levels of various Development agencies. AWID's annual conferences address the problems and issues of assuring that Development policy and practice is equitable to women.
WORLD YWCA: It is impossible to give proper credit here to the importance and effectiveness of the World YWCA for women in the Third World. With its long-standing committment to peace, health, human rights, and more recently, energy and the environment, Y policy has always been community based and woman focused. In many areas of the world, the local Y is the only place women can get some education (albeit "informal"), and it is a prime leadership training ground for women. In Uganda, the Y is a prime force for community improvement, esp. in sanitation and health. Botswana Y has 90 branches, and has been key to literacy programs for women. Margaret Mead (in 1977, at Houston) said the world Y had done more for women than any other organization. There are 84 national Y's. Empowerment of women is the common goal, with elimination of racism, violence, unhealthful living conditions, illiteracy, and destruction of the environment as important components of "Development with Justice".
EQUITY POLICY CENTER: Founded by Irene Tinker in 1978, EPOC is a
major resource for information and technical assistance in the formulation of
development policies which are sensitive to the needs and lives of women.
Willie Campbell, the Pres. of the Board of OEF, calls Irene Tinker "the mother
of us all", but Irene herself acknowledges that her work builds on Esther
Boserup's Women's Role in Economic Development (1970) EPOC has a library
of hard-to-find materials
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IWTC: The International Women's Tribune Center started in 1976, midwifed by Mildred Persinger, with one paid staff (Anne Walker), a few volunteers and the mailing list from the First World Conference of Women in Mexico City in 1975 (about 2500 names.) Without particularly trying to grow, they now have eight paid staff, and produce a wide assortment of organizing tools, How To Handbooks, Resource Lists, training materials, and a Quarterly newsletter that goes to about 14,000 world wide and is published in Spanish and French as well as English. Most of their materials are designed for practical use by women in the Third World, with keen awareness of the issues around technology. "If its not appropriate for women, its not appropriate" is one of their posters, which was very popular at Nairobi. Most of their materials are free to women in the Third World, and all of their publications are enhanced by the vivid and no-nonsense illustrations and graphics of Director Anne Walker.
IWSN: The International Women's Studies Network was built out of meetings at Copenhagen (1980), Montreal (1982) and Nairobi (1985), involving women from at least 55 countries. IWSN is administered by Florence Howe at the Feminist Press (CUNY) and Vina Mazumdar of the Center for Women's Development Studies in New Delhi, India. As an organized effort, it is not yet to the point where it has had a great influence in the US. Ms. Howe stresses that in the rest of the world, the connections between Development and Women's Studies are unavoidable, but they have been mostly ignored by the US. International Women's Studies is just at the beginning of realizing its unique potential for educating the world about women, and especially, educating American women about women in other parts of the world.
UNIFEM: Formerly known as the Voluntary Fund, the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) continues to provide training, technical support, and financial assistance to women in countries where "Development" has marginalized women by ignoring their very substantial contributions to the economies of their countries. Since 1976, when it was founded, the fund has helped more than 63,000 women become self-sufficient, while it has also assisted in reforestation and energy-conservation projects. UNIFEM also provides consultation and training for development planners, to ensure that development projects benefit women equitably. Although the amount of money distributed, about $21 million as of 1985, is very small compared to Development funds flowing through other channels, like many other feminist enterprises, UNIFEM gets a lot more mileage out of each dollar. Follow-up evaluations of UNIFEM projects have shown long term benefits of increased self-sufficiency, increased participation in social and economic planning, and permanent support systems among the women brought together in UNIFEM projects. UNIFEM receives its funding from various governments, principally Canada, Netherlands, and the Scandinavian countries. The US contributed $2.6 million in 1977, but the Reagan Administration has systematically slashed the appropriation every year, to $219.000 in 1987, and $0 for 1988.
WOMEN AND FOREIGN POLICY:
Noting the continuing dearth of women in foreign policy decision-making, The Women's Foreign Policy Council was established in 1985. Their first project was the publication, in 1987, of the Women's Foreign Policy Council Directory, a listing, with full professional profiles, of 275 women with expertise in foreign policy.
PEACE EDUCATION
Educators for Social Responsibility was founded in 1981 by Roberta Snow, and women educators have been instrumental in its development. It started with about 40 people, and now has 12,000 members. ESR's purpose is to train and assist teachers and in the process of teaching about the arms race and disarmament issues so that students can make up their own minds. Training and materials include information on bias and propaganda. Each summer since 1983, ESR has organized teachers' institutes around the country. Last summer they had eight institutes, involving a total of 300 teachers, on a variety of topics: The Soviet Union, Conflict Resolution, Social Responsibility, etc. They have 200 workshop leaders nationwide. They started with one curriculum guide called "Dialogue", and now have seven guides and four videos that are being used in public and private school systems, elementary and high school, all over the country. They are an excellent source of materials for educating people of any age about the arms race and disarmament issues.
WOMEN'S PEACE ACTIVISM
In 1983, Nuclear Times did a survey of 26 national peace groups and found that 23 of them reported that at least half of their members were women, even in organizations that have been male-dominated in the past. The same organizations reported that women also made up half or more of their leadership — this includes groups such as the National Freeze Campaign, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, Ground Zero, Mobilization for Survival, and Council for a Livable World. Women hold 25 (out of 30) slots in the national leadership of Physicians for Social Responsibility. PSR was founded by a woman (Dr. Helen Caldicott) and so was the Freeze Campaign (Randall Forsberg).
In addition to women's increased activism in co-ed groups,
and the re-newal and growth of well-established women's groups such as
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (est.
p. 51
• Women's Action for Nuclear Disarmament (WAND), founded by Helen Caldicott in 1980, now has 22,000 members and contributed (via its PAC) more than $100,000 to candidates in the 1986 elections. WAND also conducted an important national in-depth survey on disarmament in 1986, which has been used by all major peace groups.
• Peace Links was founded in 1982 by Betty Bumpers, and worked through a network of congressional wives to establish chapters in every state. It now has 28,000 "links", and has been especially active in "citizen diplomacy", sponsoring programs on the Soviet Union and participating in exchanges with Soviet women.
• Grandmothers for Peace was founded in Sacramento in 1982, now has a national mailing list of 2000, and sent a delegation in Sept. 1987 to meet with grandmothers in the Soviet Union. They have made a particular point of promoting a Comprehensive Test Ban.
• Mothers Embracing Nuclear Disarmament (MEND) came together in 1985, organized by Linda Smith on the model of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. They now have 2500 members with chapters in four cities, and specialize in educating people about disarmament issues.
• Women for a Meaningful Summit (WMS), formed in 1985 as an international coalition of women's peace groups, and affinity groups (total of 83 organizations). Originally an ad hoc leadership group seeking to inject a women's viewpoint into the Summit process, they are now seeking funding to re-organize as a permanent coalition with grassroots support.
NOTE ON THE POWER OF THE INDIIVUDAL
In 1987, in Boston, peace activist Jane Collins succeeded in prodding the Nynex Co., publisher of Boston's Yellow Pages, to include a heading for "Peace Organizations". Collins supplied them with a list of 50 organizations in the Boston area, wrote many rounds of letters, and finally enlisted the help of a lawyer and the Disarmament Action Network, and as a result, every telephone subscriber in the Boston area will have (in the 1988 Yellow Pages) a handy list of peace groups. (Info. from the newsletter of The War Resisters League, 3/88).
RESOURCES:
ORGANIZATIONS
OEF International. 2101 L St. NW Ste. 916, Washington DC 20037 (202) 466-3430. Newsletter, publications list. Three examples listed below.
International Women's Tribune Center (IWTC), 777 UN Plaza, New York NY 10017. (212) 687-8633. Publishes Tribune Quarterly, plus a long list of materials on women in development.
Trickle Up, 54 Riverside Drive, PHE, New York NY 10024. (212) 362-7958. Newsletter.
B'nai B'rith Women. 1640 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Washington DC 20036. Booklet on the Convention, Fact Sheets, Organizing materials.
IWRAW, Arvonne Fraser, Women Public Policy and Development Project, Humphry Institute. 301 — 19th Ave. S, Minneapolis MN 55455.
National Committee on CEDAW, c/o Billie Heller, 520 N. Camden Dr., Beverley Hills CA 90210.
Educators for Social Responsibility (ESR), 23 Garden St., Cambridge MA 02138.(617) 492-1746.
National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund, 2121 Decatur Pl. NW, Wash. DC 20008. (212) 483-3751.
Group on Equal Rights for Women in the UN, United Nations. New York NY 10017. (212) 754-6209. Cecile Gross, Pres.
Equity Policy Center, 4818 Drummond Ave., Chevy Chase MD 20816. (301) 656-4475.
UNIFEM, 304 E. 45th St. 11th fl., New York NY 10017. (212) 906-6400. Contributions made payable to the U.S. Committee for UNIFEM, and sent to same at 1889 F St. NW, Washington DC 20006, are tax deductible.
WILPF, 1213 Race St., Phila. PA. (215) 563-7110.
WAND, Box 153, New Town Branch, Boston MA 02258. (617) 643-6740
PEACE LINKS, 747 8th St. SE, Wash. DC 20003. (202)544-0805.
MEND, Box 2309, LaJolla CA 93038. (619) 454-3343.
Women for a Meaningful Summit, 1201 16th St. NW, Washington DC 20036. (202) 822-7492.
PUBLICATIONS:
Women's International Network News (WIN News), 187 Grant St., Lexington MA 02173 (617) 862-9431 Packed with good information, quarterly.
Uncounted, Underutilized: Women Food Producers: Potential Power for Combating World Hunger. 1985. 22pp. Short but thorough intro, to the facts, with suggestions for action. OEF International.
Empowerment and the Law: Strategies of Third World Women. 1987, 454 pp. Comprehensive analysis of Women, Law and Development, Edited by Maragaret Schuler, with contributions from women in 32 countries. Grew out of Women Law and Development Forum at Nairobi. From OEF.
Nuclear Times, 1601 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington DC 20009. (202) 332-9222. Six times per year. $21. General coverage of peace movement.
Women at State, published by Women's Research & Education Inst. (WREI), 44pp., 1984. Info. and analysis of women in the State Dept., in foreign service and civil service, 1970-1981.
Sisterhood is Global, Robin Morgan, ed., an anthology of the international women's movement, facts and essays on the status and activism of women in each country, including the UN. Anchor/Doubleday, Garden City NY, 1984.
Women's Foreign Policy Council Directory, professional profiles of over 250 women with expertise in foreign policy, available from The Women's Foreign Policy Council, Suite 923, 1133 Broadway, New York NY 10010.
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