DIRECTOR-GENERAL'S MESSAGE FOR INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY
Paris, March 6 {No.2000-17} - UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura has
launched a message on the occasion of International Women's Day (March 8).
Here is the full text of the message:
"International Women's Day 2000 can become the starting point for a
new era of women's rights, if only we chose to make it so. The 20th century
saw women enter public life en masse for the first time, as voters, workers,
students, officials and professionals. Now, at the start of the 21st
century, we need to take up the challenge of making this the age of women's
full participation in leadership and decision-making.
"The capacity of women to achieve excellence in their chosen fields
has long been fully proven. Their ability to rise to the top of their chosen
field remains far more problematic. Women form the majority of
school-teachers but a minority of school-heads; many become lecturers but,
compared to their male counterparts, few occupy university chairs; many
become lawyers, but few rise to the top echelons of the legal profession;
women parliamentarians, already in a minority in all national assemblies,
find that when it comes to ministerial portfolios, that minority shrinks
even further; women journalists abound, but few fill the top editorial
posts. In every walk of life and in the boards, committees and councils
where policy decisions are made, women encounter a glass ceiling when they
reach the levels at which influence and authority are wielded.
"That is why I called for a media initiative to mark this year's
International Women's Day. 'March 8: Women Make the News' tackles the issue
of women in decision-making positions in one profession only - journalism -
but this issue concerns everyone. We are all listeners, viewers and readers
of the daily output of news that keeps us informed and forms public opinion.
As recipients of the flow of information through the media, we benefit when
all the best talents, without gender bias, are involved in the production of
news.
"Until women are fully represented at the leadership level of
public, professional and economic life, we cannot say that they enjoy full
and equal rights. UNESCO will continue its task of assisting the educational
path of girls as the first and most important step in this direction. Girls
must be encouraged to enter and complete secondary education, especially in
the scientific and technical fields. Those whose academic record offers the
prospect of success in higher education must be encouraged to continue their
studies. After their initial training, women must enjoy truly equal
opportunities at each stage of their path in professional and public life.
This has to be a priority for all governments, institutions and
organisations whose policies impact on the gender balance."
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