Women’s Ministers could shape a new paradigm for development
1 Mar 2010
Commonwealth National Women’s Machineries (NWM) – comprising government ministries responsible for women’s and gender affairs - could shape a new paradigm for development in the wake of the financial crisis.
Dr Indrajit Coomaraswamy, Acting Director responsible for Gender at the Secretariat told ministers and senior officials in New York that old certainties had been undermined by new crises.
“We are living at a time of epochal change at several levels with the old, dominant paradigm of the Washington Consensus largely discredited.
“Treasuries of countries – particularly G20 countries - are looking for a new paradigm,” Dr Coomaraswamy said.
“The design of the new paradigm should be more inclusive of the needs of gender equality and the disparities within and across countries that have characterised the old paradigm.”
Dr Coomaraswamy made his remarks at the start of a two-day consultation between the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Commonwealth Foundation and NWM representatives. The meeting took place prior to the 54th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.
On Saturday morning, Commonwealth delegates received feedback from the monitoring group of the Commonwealth Plan of Action for Gender Equality 2005-2015, which addresses four critical areas of concern in the Commonwealth: Gender and democracy; Gender and human rights; Gender and poverty; and Gender and HIV/AIDS.
The mid-term review is taking place this year which will shape Commonwealth objectives over the remaining five years of the Plan.
In presenting her draft report of the review, Professor Barbara Bailey from the University of the West Indies said that the final report will be made available when Ministers meet for the 9th Women’s Affairs Ministers Meeting in Barbados in June 2010.
Source:Commonwealth Secretariat
