Gender Affairs Strategic Workshop

We have seen over the years an increase in women’s global activism, especially at the level of the United Nations. I was indeed happy to represent Antigua and Barbuda at the 49th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women in March of this Year. The assessment made by the United Nations Development Program for the Beijing+plus10 verifies that women are still greatly under-represented in political and bureaucratic posts around the world. The UNDP reports that women are nowhere near half of the decision making structure. The threshold of 30 % advocated by the UNDP Human Development Report as a prelude to the 50% is still a dream for most women. The Inter-Parliamentary Union’s monitor pegs at 15.2% the total number of women in parliaments around the world.