March is Women’s History Month. Today. a special look at the impact of the historic 1995 UN Conference on Women which was held in Beijing, China. We’ll also be talking to leading feminists from all over the world and examining some of the economic and political conditions that women are facing worldwide.

The Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) — an international women’s advocacy network — released a major new report this week that says that while the building blocks laid at the 1995 Beijing Women’s Conference are still strong, economic globalization and free trade are having a devastating impact on women’s lives.

And while the gender impact of globalization may not be uniformly negative, WEDO says that globalization has legitimized the lack of will of governments worldwide to address women’s concerns in their policies and budgets. As a result, it is women who, as workers, producers, consumers, mothers and caretakers, are the shock absorbers of the global economic transformation.

Guest:

• Bella Abzug, former Congressmember and the co-founder of the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), an international advocacy network working to achieve social, political, economic, and environmental justice for all through the empowerment of women.
• Bharati Sadasivam, the editor of WEDO’s latest report and the Program Coordinator for Women’s Rights at WEDO.
• Thais Corral, the executive director of REDEH, Network in Defense of Humankind based in Brazil. She is a vice president of WEDO.
• Jocelyn Dow, the executive director of Red Thread Women’s Development Project in Guyana. She is also a vice president of WEDO.
• Chief Bisi Ogunleye, the coordinator of Countrywomen Association of Nigeria. She is also a vice president of WEDO.

Related Link:

• Women’s Environment and Development Organization
• Feminist Majority Foundation

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