Delay in treaty on women unnecessary, says N.C.W.

Press, 8 March 1984, Page 2

Delay in treaty on women unnecessary, says N.C.W.

Delay in ratifying the United Nations Convention

on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women is mystifying and unnecessary, according to the president of the National Council of Women, Ms Dorothea Horsman.

Ms Horsman said that the ratification of the convention, with the necessary reservations, was one of the most important things to achieve before the end of the Decade for Women. “As we begin preparing for the end of the decade in 1985, putting the achievements of New Zealand beside the goals set in 1975, we do not as yet see a very encouraging picture. But

there is still time to make improvements,” she said. Doing a “stock-take” on International Women’s Day, which is today, Ms Horsman said that New Zealand women had made progress with the passing of legisla-

tion such as the Human Rights Commission Act, the Matrimonial Property Act, and the Domestic Protection Act.

But “pitifully small” numbers of women were in elected and appointed positions. For example, only seven women were among the 464 people appointed to agricultural boards and committees.

“How far have we got in recognising the economic value of women’s work in the home or in voluntary organisations?” she said. More progress could be made if a real political commitment was made to the Women’s Appointment File, and if the convention on the elimination of dis-

crimination against women was ratified, she said.

The convener of the Federation of Labour’s Women’s advisory committee. Miss Therese O’Connell, in her Women’s Day speech, urged women not to be afraid of “The barrage of threats” facing them in 1984.

“Not surprisingly many women feel shaken by the new industrial legislation, by the move to drive women out of the workforce and back into their homes, and by the pressures to keep their families going with less and less real income,” she said. The industrial law reform act was a particularly heavy blow to women workers, she said.

“Women who often work, not in the big industrial plants but in the shops and offices, will find it harder than ever to have the protection of their unions.” But, she said, there were reasons to be positive.

“We are now better placed to fight than women have ever been. What women have built over the

last two decades is a grow-

ing sisterhood. “Women must now rely on our combined strength to win real equal pay, an unemployment benefit for married women as well as men, and not only to maintain our places in the work-

force but to gain promotion alongside our brothers.” Miss O’Connell said that more women than ever were involved in trade unions, women’s organisations, and in politics. “We have built platforms so that our voices will be heard. Now is no time to be silent,” she said.