COMBATING THE FEMINISATION OF POVERTY IN COUNTRIES OF THE SOUTH

Consequences for Austrian Development Cooperation and Development Policy

Manual for the Implementation of the îPlatform for Actionî of Beijing.
Final Document of the 4th UN Conference on Women (September 1995)

Edited by the Vienna Institute for Development & Cooperation (VIDC), Vienna, Gender Series, May 1997

This is the abridged version of a manual for the implementation of the "Platform for Action" (PfA) of Beijing which was adopted at the end of the 4th UN Conference on Women in September 1995.

The dismaying increase of the poverty of women in countries of the South is the immediate reason and background of this paper, which aims at formulating concrete measures and action-oriented proposals to put into practice the historical Beijing document in the context of Austria's policies at the level of official development cooperation and assistance, at the level of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and international financial institutions as well as with regard to the reduction of debt burden of countries of the South.

In this context the underlying reasons for the feminisation of poverty are unveiled and strategies to integrate women's experiences in development and economic planning are drafted. Against this background necessary steps to restructure Austria's policies in the above mentioned fields from a consistent gender perspective are highlighted in the framework of the overall objective to eradicate poverty and to ensure sustainable development. The overriding aim is to change, at least gradually, the framework of international economic structures which considerably influence the living conditions of women in Southern countries.

Published by:
Vienna Institute for Development and Cooperation (vidc)
Weyrgasse 5, A-1030 Vienna

O R D E R F O R M