Transcript Membership - BPW International
Slide 1
BPW International
Freda Miriklis
Second Vice President BPW International
Chair UN Status of Women
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 2
What does BPW mean to you?
• Around the world the common association for
members is our General Consultative Status to
the United Nations
• Ever since our early stages, BPW has been
about Women, Development and the United
Nations
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 3
Champions
Our rich history reveals a remarkable partnership that
was influence by two women:
Our founder, Dr Lena Madesin Phillips, and
Lifelong champion of international understanding
Esther Hymer
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 4
The Beginning… 1919
• BPW USA is founded in St Louis, Missouri
• League of Nations – precursor to the United Nations –
established
• Esther Hymer is a senior at University of Wisconsin
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 5
Esther Hymer
1898 - 2001
• Esther initially volunteers as a background paper writer
for the League of Nations
• She continues to volunteer and she attends the founding
of the United Nations in 1945
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 6
Lena Madesin Phillips
• Lena undertakes 3 goodwill tours to Europe between
1919 and 1930
• In 1930 she convinces women of the world to form an
international organisation to enable women in the
business and the professions to have a voice and be
influential
• The meeting occurs in Geneva, deliberately chosen due
to the link to the League of Nations
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 7
Climate of the Times
In the thirties women everywhere are struggling to obtain:
• voting rights
• equal pay and their proper place in the social, economic and political
life of the countries in which they lived
Amongst the limited employment opportunities, the women’s
international movement is nurtured.
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 8
Rapid Growth
By 1939 the International
Federation of Business and
Professional Women has 28
member countries
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 9
Opportunity Identified
• Esther identifies the potential value of non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) and the meaningful role she
envisages they might take in influencing the policies of
the newly formed United Nations
• By December 1945 the International Federation applies
for Consultative Status with the UN
• 1978 – Status is upgraded to Category (A)1
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 10
What Category Status means…
It allows our UN Representatives to:
– speak in ECOSOC meetings
– place items on the agenda
– submit written statements directly to the Council
– sit in ECOSOC meetings in a seat reserved for
representatives of IFBPW
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 11
Onwards to CSW…
• 1946 – Eleanor Roosevelt deplores the lack of women at
the first General Assembly
• British BPW Federation champions the establishment of
a special body – the sub-commission on the Status of
Women
• The sub-commission becomes a full commission 12
months later
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 12
“For the first time in the history of the women of
the world they had an international body, solely
devoted to achieving complete equality between
the sexes, in political, social, economic and
educational life – in effort to raising the status of
women everywhere”
Dorothy Hall (BPWUK Secretary)
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 13
CSW
• CSW becomes our key forum for exchange of ideas and
representation on women’s issues under the guidance of
Esther
• Many of the issues considered initially are still relevant
today
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 14
Initial Issues
• questions of political equality,
including the right to vote and to
hold office
• the right of a woman:
– to keep her own nationality
civil rights
– to equal educational
opportunities
•
problems of marriage
– to hold, administer and inherit
property
•
guardianship of children
•
• the prevention or eradication
of discriminations against women
•
the abolition of prostitution
• the preservation of certain
protections for motherhood
• development of provisions for
maternal and child care
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 15
Esther – our voice
• BPW International grows in activity through the 1950’s at
CSW through submissions written by Esther
• Esther is elected chairperson of the NGO Committee of
the International Women’s Year in 1975
(a post she held from 1972-82)
• She is appointed Chair for the Decade for Women
(a post she held from 1976-85)
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 16
UN Conferences of Women
The revolution of women’s rights gains momentum and this sees the
birth of the United Nations Conferences of Women….
1975 – Mexico City - adopted a World Plan of Action
1980 – Copenhagen - signed the CEDAW by 75 Member States
making it a legally binding international instrument
1985 – Nairobi - over 10,000 women attend the World Conference to
Review and Appraise the Achievements of the UN for Women:
Equality, Development and Peace
………And then on to Beijing
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 17
Beijing Platform for Action
• Women in power and decisionmaking
• Women and poverty
• Education and training of women
• Institutional mechanisms for the
advancement of women
• Women and health
• Human rights of women
• Violence against women
• Women and armed conflict
• Women and the economy
• Women and the media
• Women and the environment
• The girl child
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 18
Beijing Plus
• Sept 1995 IFBPW Statement is issued for circulation at the plenary
session of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing
• March 1998 IFBPW Statement on the “Girl Child” & on “Violence
Against Women” for the 42nd Session of the Commission on the
Status of Women
• March 1999 IFBPW Statement on Health for the 43rd Session of
the Commission on the Status of Women
• 2000 Beijing plus Five – Special Session of the General Assembly
• 2005 Beijing plus Ten
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 19
Other Partnerships
• BPW International has formal relationships with other UN
specialised agencies which include:
ILO
UNICEF
UNIDO
UNCTAD
FAO
ILO
WHO
International Labour Organisation
UN Children’s Fund
UN Industrial Development Organisation
UN Conference on Trade and Development
Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN
International Labour Organisation
World Health Organisation
For us, the most important instrument within the UN activities is
CEDAW
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 20
UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 21
Where we are represented
BPW International maintains permanent
representatives where the UN bodies are located:
»New York
»Geneva
»Vienna
»Paris
»Rome
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 22
Regional Commissions
The regional commissions also have representatives who take an
active role in their work. These are:
• ECA – Economic Commission of Africa in Addis, Ababa, Ethiopia
• ECE - Economic Commission for Latin America and Caribbean in
Santiago, Chile
• ESCAP - Economic and Social Commission for Asia Pacific in
Bangkok, Thailand
• ESCWA - Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia in
Beirut, Lebanon
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 23
Terminology changes…
• Just as BPW has undergone branding changes, the UN
has changed titles of accreditations…
• BPW International now holds….
• GENERAL Consultative Status to the United Nations
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 24
UN Editorial Team
Members of the UN Editorial Team were approved by
the President
The team will work alongside the UN Standing
Committee; this is a trial for this term
Committed members that have willingly offered their
skills to establish and strengthen internal systems so that
we can learn from, inspire and build on each others’
expertise and experience
Slide 25
Reference tool
• BPW/CSW Handbook made available to pre-registered
members
• The handbook can be used in conjunction with the
NGO/CSW Handbook that is provided to delegates at
the NGO Consultation Day
• Members will be better equipped to strengthen their
advocacy efforts
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 26
UN Representative Directory Pages
• To strengthen the lines of communication to our UN
Representatives (internally) by providing profiles of our
UN Representatives on Directory Pages on our website
• The profiles will include: a photo, contact details, brief
statement on key objectives for the year, themes of their
UN Headquarters/Agencies and how members can
contribute
Slide 27
Working tool
• BPW/CSW Report Outline that provides a format for
members to use to write/type up their experiences from
the CSW
• The questions in the outline document act as prompts to
issues that are of most interest to BPW such as those
that relate to resolutions passed at Congresses
• These reports can aid communication flow between
members and the UN Representatives and Chairs of
Standing Committees and Taskforces
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 28
BPW UN Linkages
1. Better cross linking when BPW and UN priorities align
within our core business
2. Better support for our UN Representatives so that they
can advise how to better advance BPW’s objectives in
the UN environment
3. Better communication between UN Representatives
and BPW so that members know about and can
contribute to their efforts
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 29
Our Story – Our History
How will we narrate the story ahead..
and how will you write your chapter in the International
Federation’s history?
“We must be the change we wish to see in the world…”
Mahatma Gandhi
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
BPW International
Freda Miriklis
Second Vice President BPW International
Chair UN Status of Women
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 2
What does BPW mean to you?
• Around the world the common association for
members is our General Consultative Status to
the United Nations
• Ever since our early stages, BPW has been
about Women, Development and the United
Nations
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 3
Champions
Our rich history reveals a remarkable partnership that
was influence by two women:
Our founder, Dr Lena Madesin Phillips, and
Lifelong champion of international understanding
Esther Hymer
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 4
The Beginning… 1919
• BPW USA is founded in St Louis, Missouri
• League of Nations – precursor to the United Nations –
established
• Esther Hymer is a senior at University of Wisconsin
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 5
Esther Hymer
1898 - 2001
• Esther initially volunteers as a background paper writer
for the League of Nations
• She continues to volunteer and she attends the founding
of the United Nations in 1945
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 6
Lena Madesin Phillips
• Lena undertakes 3 goodwill tours to Europe between
1919 and 1930
• In 1930 she convinces women of the world to form an
international organisation to enable women in the
business and the professions to have a voice and be
influential
• The meeting occurs in Geneva, deliberately chosen due
to the link to the League of Nations
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 7
Climate of the Times
In the thirties women everywhere are struggling to obtain:
• voting rights
• equal pay and their proper place in the social, economic and political
life of the countries in which they lived
Amongst the limited employment opportunities, the women’s
international movement is nurtured.
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 8
Rapid Growth
By 1939 the International
Federation of Business and
Professional Women has 28
member countries
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 9
Opportunity Identified
• Esther identifies the potential value of non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) and the meaningful role she
envisages they might take in influencing the policies of
the newly formed United Nations
• By December 1945 the International Federation applies
for Consultative Status with the UN
• 1978 – Status is upgraded to Category (A)1
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 10
What Category Status means…
It allows our UN Representatives to:
– speak in ECOSOC meetings
– place items on the agenda
– submit written statements directly to the Council
– sit in ECOSOC meetings in a seat reserved for
representatives of IFBPW
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 11
Onwards to CSW…
• 1946 – Eleanor Roosevelt deplores the lack of women at
the first General Assembly
• British BPW Federation champions the establishment of
a special body – the sub-commission on the Status of
Women
• The sub-commission becomes a full commission 12
months later
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 12
“For the first time in the history of the women of
the world they had an international body, solely
devoted to achieving complete equality between
the sexes, in political, social, economic and
educational life – in effort to raising the status of
women everywhere”
Dorothy Hall (BPWUK Secretary)
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 13
CSW
• CSW becomes our key forum for exchange of ideas and
representation on women’s issues under the guidance of
Esther
• Many of the issues considered initially are still relevant
today
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 14
Initial Issues
• questions of political equality,
including the right to vote and to
hold office
• the right of a woman:
– to keep her own nationality
civil rights
– to equal educational
opportunities
•
problems of marriage
– to hold, administer and inherit
property
•
guardianship of children
•
• the prevention or eradication
of discriminations against women
•
the abolition of prostitution
• the preservation of certain
protections for motherhood
• development of provisions for
maternal and child care
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 15
Esther – our voice
• BPW International grows in activity through the 1950’s at
CSW through submissions written by Esther
• Esther is elected chairperson of the NGO Committee of
the International Women’s Year in 1975
(a post she held from 1972-82)
• She is appointed Chair for the Decade for Women
(a post she held from 1976-85)
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 16
UN Conferences of Women
The revolution of women’s rights gains momentum and this sees the
birth of the United Nations Conferences of Women….
1975 – Mexico City - adopted a World Plan of Action
1980 – Copenhagen - signed the CEDAW by 75 Member States
making it a legally binding international instrument
1985 – Nairobi - over 10,000 women attend the World Conference to
Review and Appraise the Achievements of the UN for Women:
Equality, Development and Peace
………And then on to Beijing
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 17
Beijing Platform for Action
• Women in power and decisionmaking
• Women and poverty
• Education and training of women
• Institutional mechanisms for the
advancement of women
• Women and health
• Human rights of women
• Violence against women
• Women and armed conflict
• Women and the economy
• Women and the media
• Women and the environment
• The girl child
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 18
Beijing Plus
• Sept 1995 IFBPW Statement is issued for circulation at the plenary
session of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing
• March 1998 IFBPW Statement on the “Girl Child” & on “Violence
Against Women” for the 42nd Session of the Commission on the
Status of Women
• March 1999 IFBPW Statement on Health for the 43rd Session of
the Commission on the Status of Women
• 2000 Beijing plus Five – Special Session of the General Assembly
• 2005 Beijing plus Ten
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 19
Other Partnerships
• BPW International has formal relationships with other UN
specialised agencies which include:
ILO
UNICEF
UNIDO
UNCTAD
FAO
ILO
WHO
International Labour Organisation
UN Children’s Fund
UN Industrial Development Organisation
UN Conference on Trade and Development
Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN
International Labour Organisation
World Health Organisation
For us, the most important instrument within the UN activities is
CEDAW
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 20
UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 21
Where we are represented
BPW International maintains permanent
representatives where the UN bodies are located:
»New York
»Geneva
»Vienna
»Paris
»Rome
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 22
Regional Commissions
The regional commissions also have representatives who take an
active role in their work. These are:
• ECA – Economic Commission of Africa in Addis, Ababa, Ethiopia
• ECE - Economic Commission for Latin America and Caribbean in
Santiago, Chile
• ESCAP - Economic and Social Commission for Asia Pacific in
Bangkok, Thailand
• ESCWA - Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia in
Beirut, Lebanon
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 23
Terminology changes…
• Just as BPW has undergone branding changes, the UN
has changed titles of accreditations…
• BPW International now holds….
• GENERAL Consultative Status to the United Nations
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 24
UN Editorial Team
Members of the UN Editorial Team were approved by
the President
The team will work alongside the UN Standing
Committee; this is a trial for this term
Committed members that have willingly offered their
skills to establish and strengthen internal systems so that
we can learn from, inspire and build on each others’
expertise and experience
Slide 25
Reference tool
• BPW/CSW Handbook made available to pre-registered
members
• The handbook can be used in conjunction with the
NGO/CSW Handbook that is provided to delegates at
the NGO Consultation Day
• Members will be better equipped to strengthen their
advocacy efforts
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 26
UN Representative Directory Pages
• To strengthen the lines of communication to our UN
Representatives (internally) by providing profiles of our
UN Representatives on Directory Pages on our website
• The profiles will include: a photo, contact details, brief
statement on key objectives for the year, themes of their
UN Headquarters/Agencies and how members can
contribute
Slide 27
Working tool
• BPW/CSW Report Outline that provides a format for
members to use to write/type up their experiences from
the CSW
• The questions in the outline document act as prompts to
issues that are of most interest to BPW such as those
that relate to resolutions passed at Congresses
• These reports can aid communication flow between
members and the UN Representatives and Chairs of
Standing Committees and Taskforces
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 28
BPW UN Linkages
1. Better cross linking when BPW and UN priorities align
within our core business
2. Better support for our UN Representatives so that they
can advise how to better advance BPW’s objectives in
the UN environment
3. Better communication between UN Representatives
and BPW so that members know about and can
contribute to their efforts
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women
Slide 29
Our Story – Our History
How will we narrate the story ahead..
and how will you write your chapter in the International
Federation’s history?
“We must be the change we wish to see in the world…”
Mahatma Gandhi
BPW International
10/3/2009
Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women