UN Women reaffirms women’s subjectivity

 Ku Yenlin 顧燕翎

Monday, Jul 12, 2010, Page 8  Taipei Times

On July 1, after several 11-hour sessions, the UN General Assembly voted unanimously to create a new entity, UN Women, subtitled “UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women,” by combining four existing administrative units dealing with women’s issues. A new post of under-secretary general, very likely a woman and No. 3 in the UN chain of command, will be created to head the new body.

In the meantime, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) also decided to have gender equality and the empowerment of women as one of its annual themes. On July 2, after a week of intensive discussions, The DESA declared it would concentrate its efforts on improving women’s access to the formal economic system and participation in decision-making, eliminating violence against women, increasing education opportunities, stamping out illiteracy, improving women’s health, ending sexual discrimination and increasing access to microcredit. Hamidon Ali, president of ECOSOC, explained, "Gender equality is crucial to all aspects of economic growth."

聯合國女人(UN Women)尋回女性主體

顧燕翎   2010/07/06 中國時報意見廣場

　　聯合國大會日前通過整併原有的四個婦女幕僚單位，成立一個高層級、綜合技術與政策的新單位：聯合國女人(U.N. Women)，次標題為：性別平等與強化女性權力的聯合國單位（the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women），由新設的女性副祕書長領軍，其位階在聯合國領導體系中居於第三位。

　　於此同時，聯合國的經濟與社會委員會亦以「性別平等與強化女性權力的執行」為年度主題，強調兩性平等有助於經濟成長，今後工作重點包括：融合女性進入正式經濟體系、參與重大決策、消除對待女性的暴力、增加教育機會、全面立法防止性別歧視、增加微型貸款等。