tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5537417784964181376.post-90015114953156203432008-02-23T21:09:00.000-05:002008-02-23T21:09:00.000-05:00As I read the material in preparation for this year's CSW meeting I was glad to see specifics that made the theme, "Financing for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women," come alive.<BR/><BR/>I was excited to see that we would be drawn into discussing very specific "financing for gender equality" questions, such as allocating funds to make sure that all data collected is separated (or disaggregated, in "UN Speak")<BR/>by sex and age so that policy makers are aware of how money is being spent for things like education, health, and violence prevention. It is not enough to fund education alone, if families are still having to choose between a girl's education and her potential as a wage earner to support a hungry family. It is not enough to set up fair labor practices, when trafficking continues to go on beneath the radar screen.<BR/><BR/>As we enter into the CSW this year, we will be constantly looking for ways to make girls visible in every aspect of our societies - and it is clearer now that "financing for gender equality" will go a long way to make that happen.Eileen Reilly, SSNDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01437516939587703892noreply@blogger.com