Public
FTAA.soc/w/162/Add.1
October 24, 2000
Original: Spanish
Translation: FTAA Secretariat
FTAA -
COMMITTEE OF GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES ON THE PARTICIPATION OF
CIVIL SOCIETY
CONTRIBUTION IN RESPONSE TO THE OPEN INVITATION
NAME |
ELENA TORRES SEGUEL |
ORGANIZATION |
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL WOMEN OF CHILE
|
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF
BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL WOMEN OF CHILE
Executive Summary.
Our Chilean Federation, affiliated to B.P.W. International, is made up of
professional and business women. It seeks to contribute to the FTAA
integration process in the following areas:
Civil Society
Professional associations
Market access (especially women in small business)
Social questions: This refers particularly to women and children
Gender discrimination: Violence. Training and employment.
Facilitation and exchange of experiences between small business women at
the regional level in countries involved in this integration process.
Social benefits for informal workers.
Civil society: Social organizations included in ours involving two
hundred women in Chile and one hundred and fifty thousand throughout the
world are concerned about civil society, and are making efforts in this
regard. They are seeking to unite their efforts at national and regional
levels. They can be instrumental in communicating the progress made by the
FTAA process in different areas.
Professional associations, including those for professional women, can
make a contribution in specialized and sensitive areas because of their
knowledge of and closeness to these areas. Special subjects, programmes
and positive experiences can be useful for exchange, and/or as
contributions between the countries of the region who belong to the FTAA.
This would help in making a contribution as a result of the invitation to
civil society to participate in this process.
Market access: Facilitation through change and adaptation of duties
and customs arrangements in FTAA member countries for imports and exports.
This will result in more facilities and greater opportunities for men and
women in small business to sell their goods and services, increase
production, and strengthen their micro or medium sized enterprises.
Similarly, regional trade will allow as well as demand them to be more
competitive. As a result, there will be greater demands on goods and
services, and at the same time there will be exposure to different and
perhaps better techniques.
For this reason, efforts must be made to achieve participation, and
utilize the efforts of all the organizations in all member states.
Social issues: With regard to these issues, organizations such as
the international federation, including those of our region, can make an
important contribution because of the work they do with and for women
throughout the world and in North and South America. This is so, because
of their proximity to deprived social sectors where women need strength
and encouragement. The Federation is involved with international bodies
such as the FAO, UNESCO, ILO, WHO, which work on relevant issues. It
serves a consultative function to these bodies, because of the knowledge
of its members in their respective professional areas. Women and girls at
work, employment, informal work, social benefits, health care, training
and education, as well as the difficulties of small business women are
areas in which valid and useful proposals can be made. The same can be
said for social problems linked to abuse and discrimination.
Federation of Business and Professional Women of Chile
MARI CARMEN LANG – ELENA TORRES SEGUEL
Santiago, 03 October 2000-11-29
The Executive Council of A.S.O.N.G. CERTIFIES THAT FUNDACIÓN CITIVAS, A
NON PROFIT NON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION, HAS LEGAL PERSONALITY, IN
ACCORDANCE WITH Ordinance No. 236 of the Ministry of Justice, published in
the Official Gazette on 24 February 1970. This organization is affiliated
to SONG.
ISRAELA ROSENBLUN
ELENA TORRES SEGUEL
SECRETARY |