Background

The 1998 APEC Ministerial Meeting on Women recognized the scope and complexity of the issues facing women and APEC economies on the eve of the 21st century, and cited the need for longer term perspective, sustained commitment, better coordination, equitable access to resources, and accountability of results." Moreover, recognizing the progress made on the advancement of women and the rapid pace of development in the APEC region, desires "to ensure that all APEC decision-making levels take into account the concerns and perspective of women in APEC in the different fora."

Strategies

At the APEC level

• Support for APEC projects and activities that seek to analyze and address the barriers to and opportunities for women's participation in APEC

  The nature of support is likely to vary among committees, working groups, and other APEC bodies. Efforts can be exerted to collect and analyze data that are classified by sex. Examples of such efforts are the systematic preparation of participants' list and summary according to sex for all APEC meetings and activities, and continuing projects such as the Labour Market Information database (LMI) of the HRDWG.。

• Networking and close co-ordination with various groups (both within and outside APEC) that are working to promote women's involvement in APEC

  There are various economy-level, regional, and international efforts to address gender issues and women's concerns. Of special interest to APEC are organizations, councils, or units that can provide expert advice and services on improving women's involvement in APEC. Foremost among these groups is the Women Leaders' Network (WLN). In addition, there are business women's councils (or their confederations), national women's studies associations, women's units of labor or trade organizations, non-government organizations, and study centers that are engaged in advocacy, training, research, and other activities aimed at advancing women's status and promoting gender equality and equity.

  Within APEC, different working groups, committees, and other bodies are engaged in or supporting gender-related initiatives (see, for instance, "APEC Secretariat's Gender-Related Developments in APEC, 1995-1999"). These efforts need to be coordinated and their results disseminated among APEC bodies

• Inclusion of more women in APEC fora, projects, and activities

  A direct approach to greater women's involvement in APEC is increasing women's presence and participation in APEC bodies or fora, activities (including meetings), and projects. This also means increasing women's involvement in APEC-related fora like the ABAC.

  APEC can encourage member economies to name women to decision-making posts, and to include women in their delegations to meetings and other fora. More particularly, APEC can urge the economies to designate more women to APEC delegations that are traditionally the exclusive domain of men. 。

At the economy level:

The realization of the goals and suggestions contained in the Joint Ministerial Statement of the 1998 APEC Ministerial Meeting on Women partly depends on the cooperation of member economies. APEC can encourage economies to undertake the following:

• Designate women as APEC contact or focal points and as delegates

  Involvement of women in APEC fora, projects, and activities is largely constrained by whether women are nominated by their respective economies to APEC posts or to delegations to APEC meetings. To increase women's involvement in APEC decision-making, APEC can urge member economies to enable more women to assume leadership positions in APEC.

• Develop rosters of eligible women within their economies

  Economies can seek out and develop rosters of eligible women so that there are easily available lists of qualified female candidates for participation in APEC fora, including decision-making roles. Specifically, they can draw on these lists for candidates for appointment to ABAC, to serve in working groups, as experts, participants, and speakers. The lists can include gender experts, women's studies academics, as well as female business and labor union leaders.