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The dream of peace and social justice
will come to pass.
It matters little whether you or I
live to see that day.
It is only important that each of
us struggle towards it.
And so, until we reach that future,
Let us keep our foot on the firing
line.
Dr.
Lena Madesin Phillips
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Theme
for Triennium:
Why Not a Woman?
Tuulikki
Juusela of Finland was reelected as President
of the International Federation at the Eighteenth
International Congress (1987) at The Hague,
Netherlands. She promised to strive to put
into effect those plans which had been agreed
on at Congress 1987 and to continue to work
hard on behalf of the aims of the International
Federation while keeping in mind the words
of Robert Louis Stevenson:
To
travel hopefully is a better thing than
to arrive,
and the true success is the labor.
The
biennium's theme "Why Not a Woman?"
was chosen to encourage women to seek positions
that reflected their capabilities. Five
means of addressing the theme were suggested:
introduce young women to nontraditional
occupations and fields; help provide opportunities
for entrepreneurship and changes in careers
through BPW networks; become role models
and mentors for other women; support women
in politics and in positions of economic
and legislative influence; and encourage
communication and leadership training. Tuulikki
Juusela, in the first President's Message
of her second term, said, "As women
we have to ask ourselves daily - Why not
a woman? Finding the ways that will lead
men and women to the construction and consolidation
of a society tomorrow where everybody has
equal opportunities to work and live together
in dignity is our goal." Let us learn
together to:
Think
positive
Act positive
Be Positive
Women - BPW!
VAN
DER ENT BEQUEST
With
the death of Marie Theodora Cornelia van
der Ent (Netherlands) in 1988, the BPW Netherlands
and the International Federation lost a
devoted life¬long member. She had served
as President of BPW Netherlands and as Vice
President of the International Federation.
A Certificate of Appreciation had been awarded
to her at Congress in 1987 for "outstanding
service to IFBPW." On the occasion
of the Sixteenth International Congress
(1983), she and her sister had donated $15,000
to set up a fund to support economic activity
for women. The expenses of publication of
the first IFBPW Trade Directory were underwritten
by this fund called the van der Ent Economic
Project Fund. Upon her death, Maria Th.
C. van der Ent bequeathed one-third of her
estate to be divided between her beloved
BPW Netherlands and IFBPW. Accepting the
bequest, President Juusela recalled M. Th.
C. van der Ent's favorite quote, "There
is no right without duties, no freedom without
discipline."*
* An article in the IFBPW magazine Widening
Horizons (1970, 39:2, p.13) attributes
this quote to former IFBPW Vice PResident
Corrie van den Bos, Founder President of
the South African Federation (1948).
BADGE
OF HONOR
Rosmarie
Michel (Switzerland), Immediate Past International
President, and Willie van Iersel (Netherlands),
Finance Officer, introduced a new award
at Congress in 1989 called the Badge of
Honor. It was IFBPW's highest award and
was to be presented at International Congresses
to an individual who had made a very special
contribution to IFBPW. The first individual
to be awarded the Badge of Honor was Esther
Hymer (USA) for over forty-five years of
continuous outstanding service to IFBPW.
Her association with IFBPW had begun in
the early 1940s when Dr. Lena Madesin Phillips,
International President at the time, invited
her to work at International Headquarters
in New York City. Esther Hymer and Margaret
Hickey (USA), International's first Chairperson
of the International Relations Committee
(precursor to the UN Committee), attended
the signing ceremony of the United Nations
Charter in San Francisco in 1945.* A few
years later, Esther Hymer's efforts contributed
to the selection of IFBPW as one of the
first international non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) ever to be granted consultative status
at the United Nations. Esther Hymer had
served the International Federation over
the years as Chairperson of the United Nations
Committee and was currently the IFBPW Representative
to the UN in New York. She had been awarded
an Honorary Membership in 1985.
*Note: Esther Hymer represented the International
Federation at the fiftieth anniversary of
this occasion in San Francisco in June 1995.
INTERNATIONAL
HEADQUARTERS NEWS
After
more than four years at International Headquarters,
Tamara Martinez announced her decision to
leave her position as General Secretary
in April 1988. She said, "It has been
my privilege to work with outstanding women
from all walks of life in an organization
that is truly a vital force for women."
President Juusela thanked Tamara Martinez
for "all the work she had done for
the International Federation." Marianne
Haslegrave, formerly employed by International
Planned Parenthood Federation in London
as consultant on Women and Development and
NGOs, was hired for the position and officially
began work as the new General Secretary
in August 1988.
Carol
Fells, IFBPW's accountant, was presented
with a retirement gift at Congress in 1989
in appreciation of eighteen years of dedicated
service (1971-1989). During the biennium,
she had been responsible for both finding
and arranging the purchase of the new International
Headquarters, Studio 16 in the Cloisters
Business Centre, London. Moving had been
necessary due to redevelopment in the area
of the previous address. President Juusela
stated that "we [IFBPW] were most fortunate
in being able to sell the lease at Buchanan
House which funded the purchase of the new,
more spacious International Headquarters."
Members contributed to the "New Image
Fund" to be used for purchase of new
office equipment. The staff moved into the
new premises in June 1988.
IFBPW
REGIONS
AFRICA:
Beth Mugo (Kenya), Regional Coordinator
Eight
newsletters and reports were sent by the
Regional Coordinator to all affiliates in
the African Region. An African Sub Regional
Committee was established. The African Region
organized the All Africa Women's Non-governmental
Organization Leaders' Workshop, the seventh
All Africa regional meeting since 1969,
which was hosted by BPW Ghana in January
1989. Participants came from ten countries
and included the International Federation's
Second Vice President, Esther Ocloo (Ghana)
and Honorary Secretary, Jess Sanders (Zimbabwe)
as well as the Regional Coordinators from
Africa and North America. The Workshop was
funded by UNIFEM, UNDP, UK Overseas Development
Agency and the Commonwealth Foundation (UK)
with the theme "Why Not A Woman?"
Representatives from UNIFEM, UNDP, FAO and
the Environmental Protection Agency were
featured speakers. There were exhibits of
members' manufactured products and produce
in addition to the main exhibit on food
processing. One member from each country
presented a paper on food preservation and/or
food processing. A day was spent at Nkulenu
Industries Ltd., Accra, Ghana - a company
specializing in bottling, canning and packing
Ghanaian foods, owned by International Federation's
Second Vice President, Esther Ocloo.
During
the biennium, the African Region was represented
at regional meetings of the ILO and UNICEF.
The Coordinator attended the founding meeting
of the African Women's Development and Communication
Network (FEMNET) on behalf of IFBPW in 1988.
The Network was established to implement
the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for
the Advancement of Women in the region.
ASIA
and the PACIFIC:
Alix Haywood (New Zealand), Regional Coordinator
The
Regional Coordinator stated that ''because
her region covered four subcontinents, there
was no natural or ethnic awareness of regionalism
[among BPW members of the Asia and Pacific
Region]." Correspondence had been the
primary means of communication. A regional
newsletter was issued six times per year
suggesting projects to complement special
programs of the United Nations. Special
attention was given to literacy projects
in support of International Literacy Year
1990.
EUROPE:
Livia Ricci (Italy), Regional Coordinator
The
Fifth European Regional Congress was attended
by more than 200 participants including
Tuulikki Juusela, International President,
and Willie van Iersel (Netherlands), International
Finance Officer. It was held in Stockholm,
Sweden, in June 1988 with the theme, "Women,
A Resource in Economy and Leadership."
Chafika Sellami-Meslem, Director of the
Branch for the Advancement of Women, United
Nations Centre for Social Development and
Humanitarian Affairs, spoke to the Congress
of "contending with a kind of exhaustion
based on exhilaration in the implementation
phase [of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies
for the Advancement of Women]." She
said that "many people - women and
men alike would like to turn the advancement
of women over to the forces of history and
the 'magic of the marketplace,' but when
you start with a situation of inequality,
all the market does is perpetuate inequality.
To overcome inequality, you must consciously
act to do so."
During
the biennium the European Coordinating Committee
conducted surveys in the Region on the subjects
of women and the economy, and women and
technology. The European Region maintained
close links with the Council of Europe and
with the Commission of the European Communities.
Regionalism had been encouraged through
publication of a membership directory, adoption
of a unified theme "Here is Europe"
and creation of a specially designed scarf
and BPW Europe badge.
LATIN
AMERICA and the Spanish-speaking countries
of the WEST INDIES:
Isabel de Peralta (Costa Rica), Regional
Coordinator
During
the biennium, the Regional Coordinator visited
Argentina, Brazil and Panama. A Regional
Seminar, with six countries represented,
was held in San Luis Potrero de Funes, Argentina.
A proposal to promote the integration of
subregions was approved with the ultimate
goal being the integration of the whole
of Latin America. Plans to strengthen relations
in the subregion comprised of Argentina,
Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay were
underway.
 NORTH
AMERICA and the non Spanish-speaking countries
of the WEST INDIES:
Anne Steinbeck (USA), Regional Coordinator
Anne
Steinbeck reported visiting the Bahamas,
Bermuda, Canada and the USA during the biennium.
A Regional Conference in June 1988 had been
hosted by BPW /USA (North Carolina) with
emphasis on implementation of the Nairobi
Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement
of Women. In addition to members from the
North American Region, a Zambian member
representing the African Region attended
the conference. In turn, Anne Steinbeck
represented the North American Region in
1989 at the African regional conference
"All Africa Women's Non-governmental
Organization Leaders' Workshop." The
resultant sharing of cultural and educational
experiences between members of different
continents had been invaluable.
MEMBERSHIP
COMMITTEE
Yvette
Swan (Bermuda), Membership Committee Chairperson,
and her committee had launched a Membership
Campaign which culminated with the presentation
at Congress in 1989 of Certificates of Recognition
to affiliates showing an increase in membership
during the biennium.
 Six
women from six different countries had joined
during the biennium as Individual Associate
Members (IAM) - a new category of membership.
The Chairperson drew attention to the importance
of this membership category as "IAMs
can form the nucleus of an Associate Club
in countries where no affiliate exists."
In fact, IFBPW's first Individual Associate
Member, Gladys M. Jusu-Sheriff of Sierra
Leone in West Africa, helped establish the
Freetown BPW Club. Chairperson Swan explained
that "many developing countries encountered
problems in paying dues because of problems
with foreign currency exchange." Twinning
arrangements with a country without this
difficulty had already been established
and offered a solution to the problem. "Because
of currency restrictions in 1989, it was
necessary for an affiliate to sponsor the
first Individual Associate Member from Ethiopia,
Jember Teferra; the affiliate sponsor was
the Annapolis Network BPW Organization of
Maryland, USA., according to Membership
Committee Chairperson Swan.
There
were affiliates in 68 countries in 1989,
a gain of four countries since 1987. Including
the countries where individual associate
members lived, IFBPW now had representatives
in 74 countries.
A new
category of membership was created at the
1989 Congress called ''Members at Large"
and defined as "any business or professional
person who, because of location and/ or
travel commitments, is unable to become
a member of an affiliated Federation or
Associate Club."
HONORARY
TREASURER/FINANCE COMMITTEE
Julia
Arri (USA), Honorary Treasurer, told Congress
that IFBPW had suffered through a difficult
financial situation during the past two
years which was aggravated by fluctuations
in currency exchange rates and late payment
of dues. She thanked Carol Fells, IFBPW's
accountant, for coordinating the purchase
of the new premises for International Headquarters
in addition to performing her normal accounting
duties.
Finance
Officer, Willy van Iersel (Netherlands),
reported that IFBPW had shown deficits each
of the last two years making it necessary
to draw from the Accumulated Fund to meet
financial commitments. She explained that
the Fund had been established during the
1977-1980 triennium with the goal of maintaining
the equivalent of one year's expenditure
to be used in the event of unforeseen expenses.
During the 1987-1989 biennium the Accumulated
Fund had been used to pay $60,000 for unforeseen
expenses associated with the purchase of
the new premises for International Headquarters
as well as to cover day-to-day operating
costs of the International Federation. The
Finance Officer reported that the Accumulated
Fund had decreased by more than fifty per
cent during the biennium. The number of
issues of the IFBPW Circular and magazine,
Widening Horizons, had been reduced to cut
costs. Therefore, the Committee had no choice
but to recommend a dues increase. Congress
delegates approved the recommendation and
voted to raise dues from $2.40 per member
to $3.00 as of April 1, 1991.
Ursula
Schulthess (Switzerland), Chairperson of
the "Friends of IFBPW" Committee
(Ad Hoc), reported that the number of "Friends"
had shown steady growth during the biennium.
"Friends" were members who supported
IFBPW financially with a sum of $100 or
more per year over a period of at least
two years. It was announced at Congress
in 1989 that the annual subscription for
"Friends" would rise to $150 per
year.
PUBLIC
RELATIONS COMMITTEE
This
newly formed Committee inherited some tasks
from the former Publications Committee including
supervision of the International's magazine,
Widening Horizons. In addition, the Committee
was responsible for all IFBPW publicity.
There had been continuous review of methods
to improve the International's magazine
during the biennium. The number of issues
per year was reduced from four to three
in 1989 for financial reasons. However,
the length of the magazine had been increased
from sixteen to twenty pages. At Congress
in 1989 a Widening Horizons Ad Hoc Committee
was established to examine how to increase
the magazine's appeal to members, improve
circulation, and make it financially self-supporting.
In 1988 Debbie Scholes retired after four
years as editor. Amanda Hewett, newly appointed
Executive Assistant at International Headquarters,
then became editor. Ulla-Liza Blom (Sweden),
Public Relations Chairperson, reported that
public relations work had been geared to
meeting the differing needs of the countries
affiliated with the International Federation.
During the biennium the Committee had developed
a new publicity leaflet, press kits and
basic guidelines for public relations including
suggestions for membership recruitment and
retention. The Chairperson led an informative
Public Relations Committee Workshop for
the membership at Congress in 1989.
AGRICULTURE
COMMITTEE
The
Agriculture Committee, chaired by Tamara
Sanchez-Pena (Bolivia), submitted a resolution
to Congress which was approved that "urged
Affiliates to educate and encourage women
in food production and food preservation
at domestic and commercial levels and to
seek the commitment of their government
and of donor agencies to flexible policies,
financial support and credit facilities
for women in agriculture."
BUSINESS,
TRADE AND MARKETING COMMITTEE (AD HOC)
This
new Ad Hoc Committee, established in 1988,
was named the Business, Trade and Marketing
Committee. One of its main purposes was
the coordination of assistance to women
in small and medium-sized businesses in
the developing countries. Willie van Iersel
(Netherlands), International Federation's
Finance Officer, was the Chairperson, and
Lucile Dunham (USA) and Esther Ocloo (Ghana),
International Federation's Second Vice President,
served as advisers. Regional Coordinators
were asked to investigate the possibility
of Regional Trade Presentations and encouraged
to maintain close liaison with Willy van
Iersel who was appointed Liaison Officer
on Trade and Commerce between CBI and IFBPW
Regions for the biennium.
Willy
van Iersel chaired a panel discussion at
the 1989 Congress on "Enterprising
Women in Marketing and Exporting."
The four panelists were Dick de Man from
the Dutch Government Agency for the promotion
of imports from developing countries (CBI),
Trade Promotions Section (Netherlands);
Saara Kehusmaa-Pekonen, Director of the
Programme for Development Cooperation at
the Helsinki School of Economics (PRODEC)
in Finland; Michaela Walsh, Director of
Women's World Banking (WWB); and Sheryl
Swed, Director of the Small Business Administration
of the United States Government. Dick de
Man of CBI stated that "exporting was
one possibility for helping women become
economically independent in developing countries."
Since its founding in 1971, CBI's main objective
was to "assist exporters in developing
countries in the expansion of exports to
Western Europe."
Saara
Kehusmaa-Pekonen of PRODEC told Congress
that "investing in human resources
[people] gave a better rate of return in
the long run than any other type of investment."
Since its founding in 1969, PRODEC had been
funded by Finnish development funds and
specialized in the training sector, with
special emphasis on the advancement of women
and their training. In 1988 PRODEC introduced
special courses for women entrepreneurs.
Michaela
Walsh of Women's World Banking reported
that since 1985 the capital base for WWB
had expanded from $1.6 to $6 million, and
WWB had made 8,000 loans to more than 45,000
women with total value of $8 million. With
credit secured by WWB, many women had been
able to borrow money from commercial banks
that had never previously made loans to
women. Access to credit through WWB was
a lifeline for many women.
Sheryl
Swed of the USA Small Business Administration
said that "small business could no
longer assume that local markets would be
insulated from international trade. There
were opportunities open to small business
owners but it took tenacity and energy."
She concluded by saying, "The International
Federation had a unique opportunity to foster
cooperation and understanding through international
trade."
A three-day
Congress workshop on "Business, Trade
and Exporting" was made possible through
generous financial support of CBI. Four
experts from CBI served as workshop leaders.
Thirty-five women from twelve developing
countries participated. The Committee Chairperson,
Willy van Iersel, coordinated the workshop
and reported that "in addition to providing
expertise on a broad range of issues and
taking into account the specific needs of
the participants, CBI leaders had given
practical advice on samples brought by individual
participants for evaluation and commented
on project proposals."
A parallel
business and trade Congress workshop "Ideas
for Exchange of Goods and Services to Create
Opportunities for Women Entrepreneurs"
was directed primarily toward women from
developed countries. It was led by Lucile
Dunham (USA), IFBPW Small Business Adviser
and Adviser to the Business, Trade and Marketing
Committee.
Daisy
de Wende (Bolivia), Trade Directory Adviser,
reminded members in her report that the
first IFBPW Trade Directory, a business
index of members, had been made available
at Congress 1985. It was a major achievement
of the Trade and Commerce Committee (Ad
Hoc) which she chaired from 1983-1987. She
was pleased to report that positive reaction
had enabled the publication of a new 1989
edition. It was published in English, French
and Spanish. PRODEC-IMPORT (the Finnish
Import Promotion Office for Products from
Developing Countries) had printed the Trade
Directory free of charge.
EDUCATIONAL
AND CULTURAL COMMITTEE
Angelica
Biacca Branca (Italy), Educational and Cultural
Committee Chairperson, said that her Committee's
plan of action for the biennium had been
to gather information from affiliates on
a number of relevant themes: the influence
of how females are portrayed in schoolbooks,
education and reentering the work force,
surrogate mothers, and AIDS prevention.
The
Chairperson described activities of affiliates
in Pakistan and Italy. In 1988 the Kathore
Club of BPW Pakistan set up a Literacy Committee
which established three centers where adult
literacy skills were taught. BPW Italy hosted
a two-day international musical "Meeting
of Friendship and Peace among Peoples"
in 1989. All musicians performed an instrumental
or singing program. BPW Italy included Education
in Arts and Music as an important subcategory
within its Educational and Cultural Committee.
EMPLOYMENT
COMMITTEE/ILO
M.
Alba Iriarte de Lofiego (Argentina), Chairperson
of the Employment Committee (formerly called
the Employment Conditions Committee), listed
the two basic topics which concerned the
Committee during the biennium - women's
pay and unemployment. According to a global
analysis, there had been a marked deterioration
of employment conditions of women worldwide
during 1988 and 1989, especially in the
developing countries.
A BPW
member from the developing country of Gambia
wrote an article for the March 1988 issue
of Widening Horizons describing employment
conditions in her country. She said, "Women
are tied to the land to a great extent,
being the major food producers mainly of
rice and vegetables raised for consumption
by their families. If rice is left over,
it is used to buy cooking utensils and clothing.
By contrast, the men are engaged in producing
crops for cash and export. As a result of
the double burden of sole responsibility
for growing food for the family and household
tasks, a Gambian woman usually begins work
at 6 A.M. and ends work at 10 EM. Each day
she cooks, cleans, cares for the children,
the elderly and the sick, and walks long
distances for water and firewood as well
as farming the land." On the other
hand she said, ''Men meet each day in the
village 'Bantaba' (a public gathering place)
and are remunerated in cash for their work.
Women have no such break from work and their
work is largely unremunerated. Health care
is so poor that average life expectancy
is forty in Gambia as compared to seventy-five
in Europe. Most marriages are arranged by
the family, and material gifts and a dowry
are exchanged for the bride." She believes
that "this exchange lays the foundation
for the subjugation of the woman by the
man. Women are bound by endless rules to
obey and serve men and have very limited
rights." She concluded the article
by saying that "active participation
of women in the mainstream of collective
production is essential to break the chains
of their economic dependence on men and
become more confident of their own strength."
Angela
Butler (Switzerland), ILO Representative,
reported that the participation rate of
women in national delegations accredited
to the International Labor Conference held
in 1989 was more than ten per cent. Among
the 1,793 representatives of government,
employers' and workers' groups, 214 were
women (Widening Horizons, 59:3, p.6). Forty-one
years previously, the cover of the 1948
November /December issue of Widening Horizons
had proclaimed the news that L.E. Eberling
(USA) had attended the Thirty-First Session
of the ILO Conference in 1948 as the first
woman ever selected as a representative
of employers. The International Labor Organization
was founded in 1919 so it had taken twenty-nine
years for that to happen. According to Angela
Butler, ten per cent was still "deplorably
low." She advised affiliates to insist
that women were adequately represented in
the future since the study and evaluation
of the employment conditions of women, often
followed by recommendations, constituted
a very important aspect of the ILO's work.
Of particular interest to women at the 1989
Conference were the changes under consideration
regarding the ILO Night Work Convention
(No. 89) for Women initially adopted in
1919. Plans were "to change the Convention
in order to regulate the terms and conditions
of night work concerning employment of men
as well as women while retaining some 'protective'
clauses to cover special circumstances pertaining
to women."
During
the biennium, BPW Kenya had organized a
series of Small Business Entrepreneurs'
Seminars for women funded by the International
Labor Organization's program called "Improve
your Business." Elizabeth Tsuma of
Mombasa, Kenya, credited attendance at the
seminars as "a turning point in her
life" because she "accepted one
of the challenges of the seminar, that women
must expand their businesses and not settle
for marginal activities." She learned
business management skills and developed
the confidence to expand her dressmaking
business beyond the barely marginal operation
that it had been (Widening Horizons, 1989,
59:2 p. 15).
HEALTH
COMMITTEE
The
priority themes of the Health Committee
during the biennium, according to Chairperson
Sirkka Lehto (Finland), were the World Health
Organization's program - "Health for
All by the Year 2000," AIDS education,
and planned parenthood. Following the World
Health Organization's World AIDS Summit
attended by 148 Member States of the United
Nations, it was announced that the first
World AIDS Day would be on December 1, 1988.
All affiliates were asked "to disseminate
information on the AIDS crisis to their
members and to highlight the range and scope
of the fight already underway against AIDS."
Anne Marie Kimball, a representative of
WHO, spoke to Congress in 1989 about the
WHO Global Program on AIDS. She told members
that cooperation of NGOs such as IFBPW,
private organizations and every individual
was needed in order for the fight against
AIDS to be successful.
The
Chairperson noted that working toward consultative
status with the World Health Organization
would continue in the next biennium.
At
Congress, Workshops were held on a variety
of health issues: the Convention on the
Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
as it relates to reproductive rights, maternity
and other issues; the Safe Motherhood Initiative
(SMI); the Child Survival Program; and women,
children and AIDS.
LEGISLATION
COMMITTEE
Legislation
Committee Chairperson, Minnie McNeal-Kenny
(USA), reported that her Committee had drafted
position papers, conducted surveys and established
liaisons with other national and international
women's organizations. Some subjects on
the Committee's agenda during the biennium
were the implementation of the Convention
on the Elimination of Discrimination Against
Women (CEDAW), female heads of households/single
mothers and their children, women in positions
of authority, women offenders, and women
victims of crimes. The Chairperson noted
that, although governments of most affiliates
had ratified the Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW), discrimination against women still
existed. Complex issues such as adolescent
pregnancy, dependent care, education, employment
and marriage laws related to female heads
of households/single mothers and their children.
Statistics showed that an increasing number
of women were becoming politically active,
but women still remained grossly underrepresented
in parliaments and high levels of government.
The Committee recommended that affiliates
continue monitoring the number of women
in politics and their impact on legislation
and encouraged affiliates to report their
findings. A draft resolution to amend the
United Nations' Standard Minimum Rules for
the Treatment of Prisoners was prepared
by the Legislation Committee in relation
to women offenders.
Over
the course of many years, BPW UK made a
significant impact on its nation's laws
by introducing legislation favorable to
women and acting as a pressure group for
passage of that legislation. UK Federation
Vice President Jean Skinner addressed the
UK's Golden Jubilee Conference in 1988 in
relation to a particularly significant legislative
victory saying, "There are plenty of
problems facing women in business, one of
the most common being taxation. March 15,
1988, will surely go down in history as
victory day for women because it was on
that day that the government announced that,
as of 1990, women would be able to file
their own tax returns, claim their own allowances
and take financial responsibility for their
own affairs. We couldn't have a better indication
of how worthwhile it is for women to join
together to fight these battles. It may
take years, but together we can make a difference!"
PROJECTS
COMMITTEE
The
Chairperson of the Projects Committee, Khorshedi
Alam (Bangladesh), reported that correspondence
between her Committee and INSTRAW and CBI
had been ongoing during the biennium. The
President of the Marie Schei Association
had offered assistance to small projects
run by BPW members. BPW Bangladesh had provided
food, clothing, drinking water and low cost
shelter to the victims of floods and tornadoes
that had devastated the country. BPW Ireland
sponsored a course in literacy and vocational
skills for women. BPW Panama organized projects
to highlight and help improve the status
of women.
 PROJECT
FIVE-O MEXICO
Silvia
Salazar Salazar (Mexico) was pleased to
report that since the last Congress in 1987,
construction of the School of Nursing ("Escuela
de Enfermeria") in the city of La Paz,
Baja California Sur, Mexico, had begun in
August 1988 and was seventy-five per cent
completed in August 1989. She said that
"thanks to our International President,
Tuulikki Juusela, Project Five-O Mexico
was now a reality." On July 30, 1988,
the foundation stone of the School of Nursing
was laid by the International President
accompanied by the First Vice President,
Yvette Swan (Bermuda). President Juusela
also planted tree on the site to commemorate
the occasion and expressed her appreciation,
on behalf of IFBPW, to Silvia Salazar Salazar
for her outstanding work as Project Coordinator,
to the Mexican Federation and its President,
Olga M. Ramirez de Rodriguez, and to members
of the La Paz Club for enormous financial,
organizational and physical support of this
international project. Donations totaled
$85,000 as of August 1989.
At
the 1989 Congress, President Juusela introduced
Molly MacLaren and Kathleen Bond, both from
BPW UK, and thanked them for their efforts
in raising more than $2,000 for Project
Five-O Mexico by selling stickers, badges
and other items to members attending Congress.
INTERNATIONAL
AID FUND
The
Projects Committee was responsible for running
the International Gift Shop at Congress
in 1989 and reported that proceeds totaled
$8,034. The decision was made to deposit
one half of the proceeds into the International
Aid Fund and the other half into the Fund
for Young BPW (Young Career Women). These
funds provided financial assistance to members
so that they could attend Congress.
UNITED
NATIONS COMMITTEE
Esther
Ocloo (Ghana), UN Committee Chairperson
and Second Vice President, summarized the
two main objectives of her committee: encourage
implementation of the "Nairobi Forward-looking
Strategies for the Advancement of Women"
and strengthen communication between members
and the UN Committee. The Committee published
eleven UN Bulletins and twelve UN Notes
(shortened versions of the Bulletin) during
the biennium. The UN Chairperson thanked
Yvonne Crampin, IFBPW's UN Administrator,
for her work in publicizing reports sent
to her from all UN Representatives during
the biennium and also acting as liaison
between the UN and IFBPW in gathering information
from affiliates on implementation of the
"Forward-looking Strategies" and
the Convention for the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Yvonne
Cramp in served as UN Administrator from
1986 to 1988.
Twelve
UN Representatives shared the work of representing
the International Federation at UN agencies,
commissions, and programmes such as CEDAW,
CONGO, CSDHA, CSW, ECA, ECE, ECLAC, ECOSOC,
ECWA, ESCAP, ILO, INSTRAW, UNCTAD, UNDP,
UNIDO, UNEP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNIFEM,
WHO, the Commission on Human Rights and
the General Assembly. Beginning in 1988,
IFBPW appointed and sent Representatives
to meetings of the UN Regional Economic
Commissions. During the biennium, the UN
Representatives reported to the membership
on many subjects: aging, agriculture, development,
economics, education, employment, entrepreneurship,
environment, the family, health (AIDS, primary
health care, traditional practices), human
rights, literacy, peace, women in policy-making
positions, remuneration for work, rights
of the child, rural women, shelter, technology,
and violence.
Referring
to the celebration of the tenth anniversary
(1987) of the United Nations Development
Fund for Women, Esther Ocloo wrote that
"people marvel at the impact of UNIFEM
in its relatively short span of life."
She paid tribute to Margaret Snyder, its
architect and first Director (1977-1989),
whom she described as being "sensitive
to the poorest of the poor, dedicated, sincere
and humble (Widening Horizons, 59:1 p. 9)."
Margaret Snyder was a frequent speaker,
panelist and resource consultant at International
Congresses. In 1988, BPW member Claire Fulcher
(USA), IFBPW Representative to the UN in
New York, was elected convenor of the Committee
of NGOs on UNIFEM, and, in the same year,
another BPW member, Helvi Sipila (Finland),
was elected the first Chairperson of the
World Federation of National Committees
for UNIFEM.
The
International Federation issued or collaborated
on eighteen statements presented to the
Thirty-Second Session of the Commission
on the Status of Women in 1988. Five representatives
of IFBPW, including President Juusela, attended
the Session. The President emphasized that
"the importance of this Commission
could not be overstated as it was the United
Nations body responsible for the promotion
and monitoring of the "Forward-looking
Strategies" and oversaw the Committee
on the Elimination of Discrimination Against
Women." In turn, she said, "IFBPW,
as a non-governmental agency (NGO) in consultative
status, assisted the Commission by monitoring
actions of governments and acting as an
external pressure group through lobbying,
disseminating information to members, and
collecting information about the working
conditions of women."
A UN
Committee resolution was approved by Congress
delegates in 1989 that urged affiliates
to establish training programs to upgrade
women's skills within their professions,
assist members in securing credit for establishing
their own businesses and in preparing for
employment in a rapidly changing market
place. This resolution was based on the
belief that increased participation of women
in economic life was necessary in order
to implement the "Forward-looking Strategies."
UNIDO
GRANTS IFBPW CONSULTATIVE STATUS
The
United Nations Industrial Development Board
(UNIDO) granted IFBPW consultative status
in October 1988. President Juusela called
this appointment "a great achievement"
for the International Federation because
"this status will help us [IFBPW] in
developing women's entrepreneurial and managerial
skills. Consultative status will allow us
[IFBPW] to develop close relations with
the organization and to be represented in
observer status at the meetings of its governing
body and its committees." Willy van
Iersel (Netherlands) was appointed as the
International Federation's first UNIDO Representative
in 1988. UNIDO is a specialized UN agency
that promotes industrial development in
developing countries through promotion of
small and medium-sized businesses and is
financially supported by contributions from
Member States of the United Nations.
Esther
Ocloo (Ghana), UN Chairperson, told delegates
that October 18 was designated as "United
Nations Day" at Congress. It had been
set aside as a day to "celebrate the
work of the United Nations and show appreciation
for what it had done for women worldwide"
and featured a panel presentation on the
related topics of Implementation of the
Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the
Advancement of Women and the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination.
The panelists were: Norma Forde, member
of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
Against Women; Marie-Anne Martin, Regional
Program Planner for UNIDO; and Marianne
Haslegrave, General Secretary of IFBPW.
Norma Forde said that "it was fitting
that, on the threshold of the tenth anniversary
of the Convention on the Elimination of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), an
International non-governmental organization
such as IFBPW should spend time examining
it." She suggested that IFBPW urge
its individual countries to ratify or accede
to the Convention. Marie-Anne Martin congratulated
IFBPW for achieving consultative status
with the United Nations Industrial Development
Organization (UNIDO) in 1988. She noted
that a joint IFBPW/UNIDO seminar was already
in the planning stages. Marianne Haslegrave
pointed out that "the Nairobi Forward-looking
Strategies document had been of crucial
importance to women worldwide and was the
umbrella under which all the issues of concern
to the International Federation could be
found. When talking about the Forward-looking
Strategies," she continued, "the
Convention (CEDAW) should also be kept in
mind as the two documents complement each
other."
In
1988 IFBPW joined with other NGOs in observing
the fortieth anniversary of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights that had been
adopted by the General Assembly of the United
Nations on December 10, 1948. It was the
first international agreement on human rights
and set the stage for adoption of future
human rights' documents such as the Declaration
on Elimination of Discrimination Against
Women (1967) and the Convention on the Elimination
of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
A news
bulletin distributed in October 1948 to
members around the world by Margaret Hickey
(USA), IFBPW's first UN Committee Chairperson,
reported on the Third Session of the Commission
on Human Rights that "views of many
National BPW Federations have been forwarded
to members of the Commission" based
on a UN questionnaire on the Draft Declaration
of Human Rights which had previously been
circulated to International's affiliates
for comments. Just two months following
adoption of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, IFBPW members celebrated International
Week by listening to an NBC radio broadcast
from New York City on February 19, 1949,
on the subject of "Human Rights, Cornerstone
of Peace." Lisa Sergio (USA), editor
of Widening Horizons and radio broadcaster,
moderated a panel discussion of prominent
members of IFBPW. Eleanor Roosevelt (USA)
stated, "One may say that the Declaration
of Human Rights is just words but so were
the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence
and Bill of Rights (USA) and the French
Bill of Rights." Alva Myrdal (Sweden)
made the following observation, "Only
when peoples themselves will want a more
rigorous application of the great principles
of freedom and brotherhood, which are embodied
in the Declaration, can we expect governments
to take a vigorous stand for their implementation
and only when governments do so can this
document be said to have real power (Widening
Horizons, March/April 1949, p.3)."
Much as BPW members turned their energies
to the study and publicizing of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, so
too did BPW members in 1988.
UNITED
NATIONS PEACE MESSENGER AWARD
IFBPW
received the United Nations Peace Messenger
Award on September 15, 1987, in recognition
of the organization's contribution over
many years to the promotion of peace throughout
the world. Esther Hymer (USA), IFBPW's longest-serving
UN Representative, represented the organization
at the awards ceremony. BPW Pakistan was
also honored by the United Nations as a
Peace Messenger. Soon after the International
Federation was honored as a Peace Messenger,
Tuulikki Juusela wrote a President's Message
in which she quoted from a speech made by
John F. Kennedy, President of the United
States of America, to the United Nations
General Assembly in 1963:
Peace
is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process,
gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding
old barriers,
quietly building new structures.
President
Juusela continued, "As business and
professional women, our joint responsibility
for the future of the world obliges us to
do our best in furthering the cause of peace.
We, as women, will cross the geographic,
political and cultural boundaries and together
work for the maintenance of peace."
19th
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS
NASSAU, BAHAMAS, October 16-20, 1989
Welcoming
everyone to the Nineteenth International
Congress held in Nassau, Bahamas, the International
President stressed the importance of the
Congress theme "Women the Spirit of
Enterprise." She expressed pleasure
in announcing the official start of celebrations
in honor of IFBPW's Diamond Jubilee (1990).
Barbara Pierre, President of the hosting
Bahamas Federation, greeted the 1,060 participants
from five regions of the world representing
47 countries and noted that this was the
first International Congress ever to be
held in the Caribbean region. She spoke
with pride of the recent achievement of
BPW Bahamas in gaining the status of National
Federation and of the 107% increase in number
of members since the last Congress.
Continuing
the very successful idea first launched
at Congress 1985 of sponsoring the attendance
of young career women at Congress, the Young
BPW Fund '89 supported the attendance of
twenty young career women, aged thirty years
or less. In addition, affiliates sponsored
their own young career women raising the
number participating to forty-five, double
the number that attended Congress in 1987.
The newly formed Young Career Women (YCW)
Task Force was chaired by Maxine Hays (USA)
and had concentrated on developing a YCW
international program and expanding the
YCW program at the 1989 Congress. The Young
Career Women and members of the Strategic
Long-Range Planning Committee, chaired by
Immediate Past International President,
Rosmarie Michel, joined together at Congress
to present a panel discussion on the topic
of "IFBPW Diamond Jubilee: Meeting
Our Challenges."
The
keynote address "Investing in Women
- The Focus of the Nineties" was given
by Nafis Sadik, Executive Director of the
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
She reported that UNFPA had funded 2,366
projects in 174 countries in 1988. She told
Congress that "improving the role and
status of women was the crucial goal for
all population policies with education being
the strongest influence on women's control
of their own future. The long-term benefits
of investment in health, education, training
and rewarding employment for women had been
clear for many years and were priority issues
in many countries but consistently took
second place when actual investments were
made." She continued, "The International
Federation has done pioneering work in providing
jobs, skills and investment in developing
countries - may it long continue! We at
UNFPA look forward to close cooperation
with IFBPW on all these issues."
INTERNATIONAL
PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS
International
President Tuulikki Juusela addressed Congress
with these words: "I have strong faith
in our [IFBPW's] future. I believe that
with the positive action and involvement
of all of our members worldwide, we can
be an effective voice in the future. Our
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