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5 March, 2001March 8 will see the celebration of International Women's Day across the globe.
GLOBAL: As with every year, the United Nations and other organisations will be celebrating International Women's Day on March 8, a day for which special events are organised throughout the world.
This year, the International Labour Organisation in Geneva will commemorate the day with a conference which highlights women achievers -- women who have managed to get over the ever-present hurdles in order to reach top-level positions in both the public and private sectors.
A panel discussion, entitled "Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling: Women of Power and Influence," will be led by the ILO's director-general, Juan Somavía, and among the panellists will be:
- Gro Harlem Brundtland, a medical doctor who was Norway's first and only woman prime minister and is now director-general of the World Health Organisation;
- Mary Robinson, a lawyer who served as president of Ireland before being appointed as the U.N.'s high commissioner for human rights;
- Germaine Greer, author and academic who is known worldwide as one of the more important voices in feminism;
- Mamounata Cissé, trade unionist of Burkina Faso, who chaired the ICFTU's Women's Committee and is now an ICFTU assistant general secretary;
- Christine Ockrent, a well-known and respected French journalist who was France's first woman to anchor and edit primetime news on television.
Discussion will center on progress which has been made towards gender equality in the labour market with respect to management and decision-making, to identifying the obstacles which still remain, and proposing strategies for addressing them.
Although in some countries statistics are better in the public sector, universally women occupy only between 1 to 5 per cent of top level jobs in the private sector.
This year, the International Labour Organisation in Geneva will commemorate the day with a conference which highlights women achievers -- women who have managed to get over the ever-present hurdles in order to reach top-level positions in both the public and private sectors.
A panel discussion, entitled "Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling: Women of Power and Influence," will be led by the ILO's director-general, Juan Somavía, and among the panellists will be:
- Gro Harlem Brundtland, a medical doctor who was Norway's first and only woman prime minister and is now director-general of the World Health Organisation;
- Mary Robinson, a lawyer who served as president of Ireland before being appointed as the U.N.'s high commissioner for human rights;
- Germaine Greer, author and academic who is known worldwide as one of the more important voices in feminism;
- Mamounata Cissé, trade unionist of Burkina Faso, who chaired the ICFTU's Women's Committee and is now an ICFTU assistant general secretary;
- Christine Ockrent, a well-known and respected French journalist who was France's first woman to anchor and edit primetime news on television.
Discussion will center on progress which has been made towards gender equality in the labour market with respect to management and decision-making, to identifying the obstacles which still remain, and proposing strategies for addressing them.
Although in some countries statistics are better in the public sector, universally women occupy only between 1 to 5 per cent of top level jobs in the private sector.