Office on the Status of Women: The Presidency 1

What Women Want……Approaching 10 Years of Freedom

Presented to the Joint Monitoring Committee on the Improvement of the Quality of Life and Status of Women

February, 2003

Office on the Status of Women: The Presidency 2

Office on the Status of Women

Vision and Mission

• To develop an enabling environment that will guarantee gender equality hereby empowering women to gain equal access to opportunities and resources that will enhance the quality of their lives

• The OSW was created to establish mechanisms and procedures that will advance government towards gender equality

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Office on the Status of Women

Mandate

• The Office on the Status of Women’s principle mandate is to ensure that government lives up to its constitutional, political and international commitments by translating these into measurable and meaningful programmes thereby making a non-sexist society a reality

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Areas of Work• Policy

• Gender Mainstreaming

• Planning & Coordination

• Capacity Building

• Reporting

• Advocacy

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Focus for 2003Policy• Launch of the easy read version of South

Africa’s National Policy Framework for Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality (March)

• Completion and dissemination for review the National Gender Action Plan

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Focus for 2003Gender Mainstreaming • Mainstreaming Gender Equality into National priorities

• In conjunction with the Department of Local Government, mainstreaming gender into poverty eradication programmes

• NEPAD and gender, in conjunction with NEPAD secretariat hosting of Gender & NEPAD conference (April)

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Focus for 2003Gender Mainstreaming Continued• Through the coordination of the National Gender

Machinery, mainstreaming of gender national priorities, i.e. poverty eradication

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Focus for 2003Planning & Coordination• Implementing the National Co-ordination

Framework

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Focus for 2003Capacity Building• Conclusion of the UNDP/OSW Capacity Building

Training Programme (May)

• Lecture Series

– NEPAD (May)

– 10 Years of Freedom (October)

• Development and Dissemination of the UNDP/OSW Training Manual (July)

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Focus for 2003Reporting • National Reports

– South Africa’s 10 Years of Freedom report – What has it meant for women (February 2003 – March 2004

– UN Beijing + 10 Report (February 2003 – March 2004)– CEDAW report (February 2003 – March 2004)

• Annual Reports– SADC report on Women in Decision-making Positions (May)– SADC report on the Prevention & Eradication of Violence Against

Women (November)

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Focus for 2003Advocacy• National Women’s Day (What Women Want..Approaching 10

Years of Freedom) “Conversations Amongst Women” (August)

• 16 Days of Activism on No Violence Against Women and Children (25 November – 10 December)

• 10 December culmination of the 16 days campaign

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Advocacy

• The development of our Corporate Partnership Programme falls under our advocacy programme

• Our purpose in this area is to ensure that the concept of gender equality, which is constitutional goal, is embraced by all

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Corporate Partnership Programme

Programme Objectives• To extend our level of reach into the private sector

• To share gender based information with private corporations

• To partner with private corporations in the execution of major annual programmes

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Corporate Partnership Programme

Programme Strategies• Endorsement on partner’s corporate advertising

campaigns

• Co-sponsorship by partner of all or any of the National Gender Programmes

• Recognition of partner through OSW marketing/advertising on sponsored programmes

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Corporate Partnership Programme

Benefits to National Gender Programme• Added Value Resource

• Extension of Reach

• Additional Visibility

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Corporate Partnership Programme

Benefits to Corporate Partner

• Branding tool for corporate image

• Visible commitment to social responsibility

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Summary of Activities8 March –International Women’s Day• Launch of the E-Z Read version of the South

Africa’s National Policy Framework for Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality

9 August – National Women’s Day• “What Women Want…Approaching 10 Years of

Freedom” - Ingxoxo

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Summary of ActivitiesApril

• NEPAD and gender, in conjunction with NEPAD secretariat hosting of Gender & NEPAD conference

May• Conclusion of the UNDP/OSW Capacity

Building Training Programme (May)

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Summary of Activities continued

25 November – 10 December• 16 Days of Activism on No Violence Against

Women and Children

10 December• Culmination Event of the 16 Days Campaign

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END

Office on the Status of Women

The Presidency

South Africa