WLN Meeting makes 11 recommendations to APEC SME Ministers and Leaders

The statement and recommendation of the meeting covers areas including women’s participation in the digital economy; legal frameworks and gender analysis; micro and small & medium enterprises (M/SME); human security; women leader’s network and the future.

To build o­n the successes of the past decade resulting from the o­ngoing positive collaboration between WLN and APEC, and to ensure the continued integration of a gender perspective within APEC themes and objectives, the WLN provides the following recommendations to APEC Leaders:

1. Implement the recommendations of the APEC Forum o­n the Digital Economy for Women 2006, including the establishment of an APEC Advisory Committee o­n Women’s Participation in the Digital Economy.
2. Explicitly include urban and rural women in each economy’s ICT master plan and develop a database and research o­n women’s contribution to the digital economy across the APEC region.
3. Review existing investment, business and credit laws, regulations and practices to eliminate gender bias in their impact and enforcement, and strengthen their compliance by increasing M/SME awareness of such instruments.
4. Encourage APEC economies to provide gender analysis training for their government trade officials.
5. Identify, fund and implement gender-responsive programs and policy models that will assist women-owned and/or women-led M/SME to expand their businesses, and to build international trade links and networks through increased participation in global supply/value chains.
6. Promote the economic empowerment of women and safeguard APEC prosperity through encouraging APEC enterprises to adopt and implement the ILO Code of Practice o­n HIV/AIDS and the World of Work, and provide related capacity building programs.
7. Protect the rights of migrant workers, the majority of whom are women, and establish and implement effective legal protection for female and male migrant workers at both the economic and regional levels.
8. Acknowledge the important contribution of women to APEC and reaffirm APEC’s support for the role of WLN.
9. Call for an annual WLN report to be formally presented to APEC Leaders.
10. Support and fund the development of a database to increase access to sectoral gender expertise and training to enable capacity building and enhance business networking.
11. With strong support for the GFPN recommendation to convene the Third Ministerial Meeting o­n Women, WLN requests APEC Leaders to convene this meeting in 2008, with participation from diverse sectors such as industry, trade, finance, HRD and ICT.
12. At the closing ceremony, President of the Vietnam Women’s Union Ha Thi Khiet passed the APEC WLN flag to Ms. Diana Abruzzi from Australia in preparation for the 12th WLN Meeting in Port Douglas, Australia in 2007.
13. Ms. Ha Thi Khiet presented the Statement of the 11th WLN Meeting to Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc aiming to submit to APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministers taking place in Hanoi o­n September 28-29.
14. The meeting committed to establishing a WLN Secretariat in the Philippines to supervise response of APEC to these WLN recommendations and build mater strategy for the development of businesswomen.