THE TRIBUNE

The IWY Tribune, which met concurrently with the World Conference of IWY, was an unofficial forum organized by nongovernmental organizations in consultative status with the U.N. Economic and Social Council. It was attended by representatives of U.N. affiliated nongovernmental organizations, other national and international groups representing a variety of women's interests and a large number of individuals, many of whom were from Mexico and the United States. Over the two-week period, approximately 5,000 men and women participated in activities at the Tribune.

The Tribune activities consisted of panel discussions, speeches by experts in various fields and general discussion. Along with the themes of the World Conference, the Tribune considered numerous issues and topics such as "Women Across Cultures," "Law and the Status of Women," "Population," "Women in Public Life," and "Changing Patterns of the Family." Organizers of the Tribune stressed that the forum took no political positions. Participants issued statements as individuals or groups but not in the name of the Tribune.

Tribune participants published a daily newspaper as a vehicle for communication, but the distance between the Tribune and Conference meeting places, as well as the Tribune's format, made it difficult for Tribune participants to make an impact on the deliberations of Conference delegates. Frustrated by the lack of communication with the Conference, Tribune participants formed "speakout" sessions to communicate among themselves. These sessions were as varied as the interests of the 5,000 participants.

TRIBUNE AMENDMENT TO WORLD PLAN

A core of Tribune activists formed a steering committee of 15 women to consider revisions of the World Plan of Action. After several days of intensive work, the committee drafted changes for the World Plan. The fact that these suggested changes were discussed and endorsed by a meeting of 2,000 Tribune participants attests to the level of agreement at the Conference on matters of concern to women worldwide.

Many of the Tribune's amendments were concerned with strengthening the World Plan's review and appraisal mechanisms. The changes call for creation of a U.N. Office for Women's Concerns to be staffed by at least two-thirds women and headed by a woman Under Secretary General. The office would review and monitor the implementation of the World Plan, investigate complaints of civil rights violations against women, analyze and report on the impact of various U.N. programs on women and issue annual public reports.

Tribune amendments also condemned hiring and promotion policies at the U.N. where no woman heads an agency or serves as a deputy to the head of an agency, and where only 16 percent of the professional

staff are women. The revisions demand an equal proportion of men and women serving in policymaking positions in the U.N. system, and call for a woman Secretary General in 1977.

In addition, the revisions called for changes in every section of the World Plan including provisions for equal access for women to training and employment programs, freedom for women to join unions and the abolition of all forms of discrimination in union organizations. availability of family services such as day care, freedom of women to control their own bodies, the right of women in developing countries to plan and decide on U.N. development programs in those countries. and the placing of greater value on women's work in the home.

Acting on these changes, a group which called itself the Voice of the United Women of the Tribune met with Helvi Sipila, the SecretaryGeneral of the Conference, to present the revisions and to request 10 minutes of Plenary session time to present the revisions to the Conference delegates.

Ms. Sipila agreed to study the group's request and respond to the Tribune the following day. In her response, Ms. Sipila complimented Tribune participants for their efforts, especially the revisions to the World Plan. She declined the request for Plenary session time. explaining that the Conference Management Committee could not set a precedent by granting floor time to a group not accredited to the Conference. Instead, she suggested that Tribune participants urge their own governments to implement the World Plan of Action as approved by the Conference.

U.S. DELEGATION ACTIVITIES

The U.S. delegation made three official appearances at the Tribune. The first, a forum on development assistance which I chaired, will be discussed in the next section. The second was a delegation briefing at which Pat Hutar, Jewel Lafontant, Joan Goodin and Arvonne Fraser discussed U.S. Delegation activities. The presentations were well received, particularly because Pat Hutar announced that the U.S. Embassy would print the Tribune revisions of the World Plan of Action in English and Spanish, and that the U.S. Delegation would support the Tribune's request to present its suggested changes in the World Plan to the Conference. The third activity was an appearance by Congresswoman Bella Abzug, a U.S. congressional adviser, who delivered a forceful and provocative statement on "Women Power in the Future".

OPEN FORUM ON DEVELOPMENTAL ASSISTANCE

During my stay in Mexico City, I chaired an open forum on Developmental Assistance at the Tribune. As author of two provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act which require U.S. agencies and U.S. representatives to international organization to integrate women into bilateral and multilateral development assistance programs, I was pleased that the IWY Conference offered an opportunity to hear first hand from Third World women on how best to implement this concept. The forum was designed as an opportunity for Third World women to present their views and to foster an exchange of ideas between Third World women, nongovernmental organizations and representatives from donor countries in the hope that future development assistance programs would integrate women into the economies of their countries.

Panelists and forum participants confirmed that women and their economic roles have been neglected in development planning. Too often, development has undermined the traditional economic roles of women in developing countries. Moreover, development assistance has not reached or benefited enough women who are usually the poorest citizens.

Panelists emphasized the urgent need to assist women who live and work in rural areas. U.N. sources indicate that over a billion women, or the majority of the world's female population, work long hours every day of the year. Their typical day includes work in the fields, care of livestock, collection of firewood, carrying water, preparation of meals and care of children. These women need development assistance programs to ease their daily burden and to provide appropriate technology and training to help them increase their productivity.

Panelists also agreed that illiteracy among women poses staggering obstacles to the integration of women into the development process. According to U.N. statistics, about 500 million of the world's two billion women are illiterate. One out of every three women over 15 years of age cannot read or write. In 1970, women made up 60 percent of the world's illiterates, and as the world population increases, the gap between the number of illiterate women and illiterate men will become even wider. Because basic literacy skills are a key to training programs, developmental assistance must give literacy training for women high priority.

Forum participants, however, noted that literacy training alone would be an exercise in futility. Unless development assistance also helps rural women overcome their heavy workloads, poor health, malnutrition and constant pregnancies, physical exhaustion will rob these women of the interest and energy needed to improve themselves and acquire basic skills.

Although some Forum participants disagreed, citing the elitist nature of international nongovernmental organizations, the panelists

proposed that donor countries consider funding development assistance programs through nongovernmental organizations. A number of panelists charged that under the existing system development assistance money often does not reach the people. Nongovernmental organizations, the panelists argued, are closer to the people and have a better understanding of their needs. Ms. Enid Kirton, a panelist, presented the Forum a model for development assistance funding through nongovernmental organizations.

The Open Forum was cosponsored by the League of Women Voters, U.N.-U.S.A., the World Watch Institute, Women's International Network, and the Women Food and Population Program. Assistance was provided by five outstanding women representing major international women's organizations: Irene de Lipkowski, President, International Alliance of Women; Beryl Nashar, President, International Federation of Business and Professional Women: Elizabeth May, President, International Federation of University Women: Olive L. Farquharson, President, Associated Country Women of the World; and Irmgard Bohm, Board member, International Council of Women. Panel members were Sylvia Francisca B. Bolanos, Filipina International Labor Organization, rural development expert in Ghana; Lee Yun-Sook, Korean television personality; Diane Opondo, field representative for the Economic Community Association of Africa; and Enid Kirton, women's organization activist from Trinidad.

Full texts of my opening remarks before the Forum and Ms. Kirton's development assistance model are in appendixes F and G.

PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS: PROBLEMS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

The World Conference of the International Women's Year was a major step toward attainment of equality for women. Its most important achievement was adoption of the World Plan of Action, a 10-year program to improve the status of women. It gives national governments guidelines to help increase women's participation in the economic, social, political and cultural life of their countries.

The nongovernmental Tribune also was a success. It achieved unity despite seemingly impossible national, political and ideological differences. Tribune participants suggested revisions to the World Plan of Action, thus producing a blueprint for improving the status of women throughout the world.

These achievements are especially impressive because of the odds against success. Just as women are less equal than men in every country of the world, the International Women's Year Conference was less equal than other international conferences.

From the beginning, neither the United Nations nor its member nations took International Women's Year seriously. The U.N. budgeted $258,000 for the IWY Conference when the World Population Conference spent $3.5 million, relegating the IWY Conference to dependence on voluntary contributions. As late as October, 1974, the conference site was changed from Bogota, Colombia, to Mexico City, Mexico. Then, the conference date was moved up suddenly.

In Mexico City, the lack of funding and the last minute site and date changes brought reported administrative and technical problems. Space was short and physical support facilities were inadequate. The distance between the Conference and Tribune sites made communication and transportation difficult. Documentation and translation services were insufficient.

Unlike other international conferences, women delegates at the IWY_Conference were in the majority, outnumbering males four to one. For the first time in the history of international conferences, women served on almost every delegation and headed a majority of the delegations. Having been generally excluded from the forums of international diplomacy, women delegates in Mexico City worked against the dual handicaps of inexperience and lack of confidence. Much time and effort were spent in learning the rules and procedures of international meetings.

The IWY Conference reflected women's lack of power in society. At the conference inaugural session, three men spoke first, followed by Helvi Sipila. A man, Attorney General Pedro Ojeda Paullada, Head of Mexico's Delegation, became President of the Conference because U.N. protocol stipulates that the head of the host country delegation presides. Despite the attendance of women officials, legislators, judges and, even, a woman head of state, the women who received the most press attention at the Conference were wives of

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