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Second Hemispheric Forum: "Connecting the Women of the Americas: Partners for Prosperity

The Forum is organized by the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM), the only hemispheric policy forum for women’s rights and gender equality, in preparation for the Sixth Summit of the Americas, April 14th and 15th 2012, Cartagena de Indias. CIM has a responsibility to ensure that the discussion and outcomes for each sub-topic, as well as the draft final document, reflect and respond to the rights and demands of women of the region. WIGSAT Executive Director Sophia Huyer is moderator for the stream "Access to and Utilization of Technologies" for the Virtual Forum, who will present the results of the theme discussions at the Meeting of Ministers or of the Highest-Ranking Authorities responsible for the Advancement of Women in the Member States (REMIM) in San Salvador, November 1.

See the REMIM IV site for more information.

National Assessments on Gender and STI

WIGSAT is collaborating with the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD) on national studies on gender and STI based on its Gender Equality - Knowledge Society framework. With funding from the Elsevier Foundation, studies are being undertaken in: Brazil, India, Indonesia, South Africa, South Korea and compared to data in the European Union and the USA. Results will be published in 2012.

Gender, ICTs and Rural Llivelihoods: Special Online Forum

5-16 July at e-agriculture.org

WIGSAT Executive Director Sophia Huyer is collaborating with e-Agriculture and GenARDIS in a special online forum in English. The forum will explore some of the challenges that people and projects face when implementing projects aimed at empowering women and ICTs in rural livelihoods. The forum will look at what has worked, what has not worked, and good practices, as well as the critical area of capacity building and what can be done to empower women and men in playing a more vital role in ICTs for agriculture and rural development. Furthermore, the Forum aims to explore evaluation and will facilitate discussion on how we produce evidence that donors need to take the importance of women in rural ICTs seriously.

The forum will be hosted entirely online with the e-Agriculture Community platform at ww.e-agriculture.org.

Trading Stories: Experiences with Gender and Trade
Edited by Mariama Williams and Marilyn Carr (WIGSAT Senior Associate)

Through twenty regional and country case studies, Trading Stories pulls together the key links between trade, gender and economic development. Ten case studies focus on the gender impacts of trade policies, detailing differential consequences on men and women; and ten focus on linking women with global markets – including FairTrade, organic, niche and mainstream markets – through a range of best practices involving government, NGOs, people’s organisations and associations, private sector and international agencies. The book draws on three recent Commonwealth Secretariat publications on gender and trade: Gender Mainstreaming in the Multilateral Trading System; Chains of Fortune: Linking Women Producers and Workers with Global Markets; and Gender and Trade Action Guide and is a useful addition to the growing body of evidence that will help governments to effectively mainstream gender in their trade policy.
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"Cyberellas are IT!"


EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding has picked up on WIGSAT's "Cyberella" concept in a new campaign called Cyberellas are IT. This signals a new EU strategy to encourage more women to develop information and communication technology (ICT) skills – to become Cyberellas – as a powerful tool to address the shortage of 300,000 ICT qualified staff expected in the EU by 2010.

..."We will simply need more Cyberellas to have a happy end to Europe's problems of an ageing workforce, falling birth rates and skills shortages. Instead of solving these problems with a magic wand – as the classical Cinderella probably would have done – a Cyberella will use her science or engineering degree to get an attractive job in the ICT sector and make her way to a decision-making position. A Cyberella will be able to contribute to the design and production of tomorrow's technologies and communication networks. She will thereby be able to have a strong impact on shaping Europe's economic and societal future."

Go to the IT Girls website to see more information on this European initiative, including the video Cyberellas are IT.

The book Cinderella or Cyberella? Empowering Women in the Knowledge Economy edited by Nancy Hafkin and Sophia Huyer of WIGSAT is available at Kumarian Books and Amazon.

The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World
 Fourth Edition, 2008 by Joni Seager

The most up-to-date global perspective on how women are living today across continents and cultures

In this completely revised and updated fourth edition of her groundbreaking atlas, Joni Seager provides comprehensive and accessible analysis of up-to-the-minute global data on the key issues facing women today: equality, motherhood, feminism, the culture of beauty, women at work, women in the global economy, changing households, domestic violence, lesbian rights, women in government, and more. The result is an invaluable resource on the status of women around the world today.

Data for the section on Wired Women was provided in part by WIGSAT.

WIGSTAT, Women and Global Science and Technology, Women in Global Science and Technology