The Inter-American Commission of Women

The Inter-American Commission of Women (Inter-American Commission of Women) is a Specialised Organisation of the Organisation of American States and was established in 1928 at the Sixth International Conference of American States in Havana, Cuba.

It provides support to member states in their efforts to promote and protect women's rights. It also collaborates and coordinates its efforts for gender equality with other regional and international organisations and agencies.

One of its functions is to "promote access by women and girls to education and training programs, paying particular attention to the situation of women in the labour force and in disadvantaged sectors" (according to Article 2, Chapter II, Statute of Inter-American Commission for Women, (approved at the XXIX Assembly of Delegates (Inter-American Commission of Women/RES.210 (XXIX-O/98), November 18 1998)).

Policy documents

1998 Plan of Action on Women's Participation in Power and Decision-Making Structures

The XXIX Assembly of Delegates adopted the Plan of Action of the Inter-American Commission of Women on Women's Participation in Power and Decision-Making Structures in November 1998 (RES. 198 (XXIX-O-98).). The Plan of Action outlined the situation in each subregion (the Caribbean, Andean region, Central America, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Panama, and the Southern Cone) as well as the overall hemispheric region.

It identified areas for priority actions, which include:

• Cultural Change - these target the educational system and include revision of school textbooks and a curriculum dealing with education for equal opportunity and gender equity, as well as refresher courses and awareness training for teachers. Also included were media and other public awareness campaigns as well as studies to identify the hidden or informal barriers encountered by women leaders;
• Training - this covers issues such as leadership training programs for both women and girls in schools within a co-educational context (CIM is to identify relevant funding).

Biennial Work Plan of the Inter-American Commission of Women 1999-2000

The Plan was adopted at the XXIX Assembly Of Delegates of Inter-American Commission of Women, November 1998 and was based on mandates arising from previous work plans. The identified common priorities include education, more specifically:

• educational reform based on the principles of gender equity and non- discrimination, which entail building relations of equality and solidarity between men and women;
• socio-cultural changes and eliminating stereotypes based on domestic and work roles in education, to create an awareness that men and women should share tasks in both the public and the private sphere;
• training programs geared to educationally disadvantaged groups, such as minorities, people living in rural areas, marginal urban sectors, indigenous women, and ethnic groups.

Inter-American Program on the Promotion of Women's Human Rights and Gender Equity and Equality of 2000

One of the program objectives is to promote gender equality and women's human rights by strengthening and fostering women's full and equal access to education at all levels and to the various fields of study.

As a recommendation, the program recommends that the Governments of the Member States take actions to launch awareness campaigns, and implement programs to promote gender equality and equal opportunities at all levels in national education systems, both formal and non-formal.

Index ¦ e.quality@work