Starting in 1975, the International Women's Conference was started by the U.N. Since then, there have been four successful conferences that address the obstacles blocking the advancement of women.

The Women's Conference addressed 12 critical platforms for action. These areas were labled as obstacles to the advancement of women. The platform offered strategic objectives and actions that should be taken by governments, international organizations, communities and individuals. Take a look at the following categories. What can you do in your community to improve the conditions for women?

• Poverty-Women make up a disproportionate share of the World's growing poverty. Women now constitute 70% of the world's 1.2 billion poor. This extra burden stems from absence of economic opportunities and autonomy, land ownership and inheritance, education and support services and minimal participation in decision making.

• Education-Although primary enrollment rates are the same among boys and girls, dropout rates are much higher among girls. Over two-thirds of the world's 1 billion illiterate are women.

• Health-Women are the fastest growing group of HIV infected adults. By the year 2000, 15 million women will be infected by the virus. Each year at least half a million women die from complications due to pregnancy and another 700,000 due to unsafe abortions.

• Violence-Violence against women is a global problem. In the US, a woman is physically abused every eight secounds and one is raped every six minutes. In India, five women are burned due to dowry-related incidents everyday. According to a survey from Papua, New Guinea, 67% of all women were found to be victims of domestic violence.

• Armed and Other Conflicts- Women often have no decision-making power during global conflicts. They are the victims of torture, disappearance and systematic rape as a weapon of war. Women constitute 75% of the worlds 23 million refugees.

• Economic Participation-At the corporate level, there are only eight women for every 100 men. Women are strongly discouraged from decision-making positions that involve economics.

• Power-Sharing and Decision-Making-More than 100 countries have no women in the government. Negative stereotypes contribute to the discrimination that women face.

• National and International Machineries-Women in developing countries often lack the tools that are needed for advancement. They need to be educated in how to use technology in order to become introduced into mainstream society.

• Human Rights-Women are granted all basic human rights but often lack the ability to exercise them fully. Women's rights are still not secured in countries that haven't adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

• Mass Media-Very few women work in the world's media. This allows men to reinforce the stereotypes of women that may not necessarily be true.

• Environment and Development-Women, since they are left to be responsible for food and household management, are naturally more concerned about the environment.

• The Girl Child-In many countries, girl children are discriminated from the day they are born, into adulthood. They are often treated as inferiors. Girls are less likely to be encouraged and supported, thus continuing the cycle of dependency.
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