by Patricia Hutar, 1975
International Women's Year 1975 was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972. It was planned as an endeavor to promote the equality of women in all societies. The high point of the year was the international conference in Mexico City from June 19 to July 2. The conference adopted a ten-year program entitled "World Plan of Action" and a declaration on women's rights. Unfortunately the proceedings of the conference were not harmonious. The Communist bloc and non-aligned nations attempted to politicize IWY by insisting that the issue of women's rights be subsumed under demands for a new international economic order. Because of numerous disagreements, the United States delegation voted against the conference declaration. One of the members of the U. S. delegation was Patricia Hutar of the Commission on the Status of Women of the U.N. Economic and Social Council. She spoke to the conference on June 20.
Ladies and gentlemen:
I would like to begin by bringing you the personal greetings from the First Lady of the United States, Betty Ford:
As I am unable to be with you in Mexico City, I send my cordial greetings to President Echeverria and Mrs. Echeverria, to President of the Conference Ojeda Paullada, to Secretary General Waldheim, Secretary General of the Conference Mrs. Sipila, and to all who are attending this historic conference.
I wish you to know that the people and Government of the United States are firmly committed to the goals of the conference and to the work that must follow it if these goals are to be reached.
The high purpose of International Women's Year-to promote the equality of women-truly enhances the equality of us all. As my husband said on the occasion of announcing our own National Commission for the Observance of International Women's Year, the search to secure rights for women frees both sexes from restrictive stereotypes. Liberation of the spirit opens new possibilities for the future of all individuals and of all nations. I am awed by the task you face. I am inspired by the opportunity you have for progress.
I know that the leaders of the U.S. delegation will work unceasingly with you in a spirit of cooperation to make the Conference on International Women's Year a landmark in the history of women's affairs and of humanity's search for peace and understanding.
We are deeply grateful to President Echeverria for gracing our deliberation this afternoon and to the Government of Mexico for its generosity in volunteering to host this international conference. We thank the Government of Mexico for all the work it has done in making arrangements for us. The vibrance and beauty of this capital city are a stimulus to achievement. The hospitality of the Mexican people enhances our enjoyment of our brief time among them. We also wish to praise the extraordinary competence of those members of the U.N. Secretariat at all levels who completed the enormous task of preparing for a world conference of this magnitude in an unprecedentedly short period of time.
The representatives of the United States of America come to this conference with a deep sense of empathy and solidarity with women in all parts of the world. We desire to work together on the many concerns that are common to us all.
Discrimination based on sex is the most widely known kind of discrimination. It is found in all developed and developing societies, either openly or covertly, and it is manifested in diverse forms. The time is long overdue for women to eliminate discrimination based on sex. No rhetoric, however attractive it may be, should postpone the achievement of equal rights and responsibilities for women.
We in the United States had long felt the need for all countries of the world to come together to discuss the most important problems that affect over half the world's population, the women of the world. Therefore, with the cosponsorship of nine developing nations, we introduced a U.N. resolution to establish a World Conference for International Women's Year. We all are aware that declarations and statements of principle enunciated by the United Nations, though of great value, were not enough. There was a need to focus worldwide attention to dramatize the problems faced by women.
We will work with the other delegations to produce a plan of action that will impact on national governments for the implementation of the principles of International Women's Year-equality, development, and peace. But plans are not enough. Mechanisms need to be established to insure that real progress is made.
We in the United States expect to learn much from the accomplishments of our sisters around the world. In exchange, we offer to share with you the substantial progress made in the United States to further women's rights and responsibilities.
Much has been done, but there is much more that needs to be done to overcome the limitations and discriminatory practices of the past, reinforced by centuries of laws, traditions, and customs. We are proud in the United States of the legislation and government action that has been taken in the past several years to prohibit employment discrimination based on sex. Such legislation provides for equal pay for work of equal value, nondiscrimination in hiring, in discharging, and in compensation. Another piece of important legislation prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in educational programs or activities.
These antidiscrimination laws and other social change have come about in our country through the joint efforts of voluntary organizations and the government. Traditionally the Government of the United States does not plan social change in the sense that some other governments do-it responds to the demands for reform made by citizens and/or voluntary associations and works with them in charting the mechanisms of social change.
We are also proud of the fact that we have established various national machinery to continue to monitor and implement nondiscrimination on the basis of sex. Some of these include a Special Assistant to the President of the United States for Women and an Office of Women's Programs in the White House; the Women's Bureau in our Department of Labor, established in 1920; a Women's Action Program in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare; and a Federal Women's Program Coordinator to monitor employment practices in every governmental body. We also have citizens actively involved in this machinery, including a President's Advisory Council on the Status of Women, Advisory Councils to the Secretaries of Labor, Defense, and Health, Education, and Welfare.
Though many general economic, political, and social changes are modifying the basic situation of women throughout the world-both in those countries now undergoing arduous processes of development and those which have already experienced the impact of industrialization-these changes will not automatically redress the balance. It requires positive efforts to identify and cope with the many factors which limit women and stand in the way of their full integration in development. I need mention only the lack of access to employment, education, and political integration to make the point that women are prevented from making their full and responsible contribution to the life of their societies and their full contribution to their families, their communities, and their nations.
International Women's Year has chosen as two of its basic goals equality for women and their integration in development. These goals are inextricably interrelated. Each is indispensable to the other.
Equality without development means shared misery and frustration. Development without equality may mean a worsened situation for many women, both those who are homemakers and those who are in the labor force. Similarly, achieving one of the goals helps achieve the other. Development creates new situations and changes which make it possible for women to win a new and more equal status. And the full, equal participation of women in the development process can make the difference between success and failure of development itself.
The U.S. Government is prepared to introduce at this conference a draft declaration on equality and development that embraces these two basic goals of the Year, which I have stated are intertwined.
But women cannot wait, with arms folded, for men to achieve a new order before women can achieve a new order before women can achieve equality. On the contrary, women must continue their work, already begun, to achieve a truly equal partnership. Women must be in decisionmaking positions in the power structure along with men to build a more just world order.
Women have a strong sense of social responsibility and are searching for opportunities to share their vision of a new society free of hunger and poverty. We must have, though, the understanding and commitment of men to reach the goal of equality. We have heard pledges of such commitment already in this conference in our opening session. We welcome this pledge of partnership.
The third goal of International Women's Year is to strengthen the role of women in establishing world peace. To achieve it, women must mobilize their potential political power to assure that governments actively pursue the goal of disarmament.
The United States believes that disarmament negotiations should be directed toward general and complete disarmament under strict international control. It is our profound hope that women will not only use their influence to keep governments working toward this end but we believe also that women must equip themselves for and assert their right to serve in agencies of government and on international delegations that are responsible for arms control and disarmament.
Basically, the issue and challenge which we face is to develop and utilize the untapped potential of over half the world's population. There is a great scarcity of women in policymaking positions in the world. Women remain significantly absent from high-level posts in governments, in international affairs, in the professions, and in business.
Women want to share with men the responsibilities and the duties involved in decisions affecting peace and development as well as in decisions that affect their lives. But unless they are able to move into the top positions in their fields, their impact in national and world affairs will be negligible and the possibilities of helping other women to move ahead in their roles will be nil.
Women's presence must be felt if we want the policies of the public and the private sector to be altered so as to be more equitable for women and men. This is one of the major areas of concern and focus of our U.S. National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year.
At this conference we must insist that the United Nations and its specialized agencies provide opportunities for women to rise to the highest levels.
During the last General Assembly the U.S. delegation introduced a resolution, inspired by Senator Charles Percy, designed to assure that priority is given to projects within the U.N. Development Program that integrate women into the development process. This is a step in the right direction; our responsibility now, though, is to assure that this resolution is carried out.
At the initiative of the U.S. delegation, too, the U.N. Secretariat has set up a personnel committee to make sure that there shall be no discrimination against women in hiring or promotion within the U.N. Secretariat. The next step is to secure the establishment of other personnel committees throughout the entire U.N. system.
Action by national governments will have a still broader effect upon the status of women than the international actions proposed above. A majority of governments have committed themselves to the principles of equality and of integrating women in development through their adherence to U.N. conventions and resolutions on these subjects.
This conference must build a plan of action that includes specific national measures for translating principles into action. Upon leaving this conference, participants must assume the responsibility for assuring that each of their governments puts into action the policy recommendations and provides the necessary resources to adopt the measures called for by the plan of action.
The U.S. delegation and the National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year have held several meetings with our nongovernmental leaders to discuss the implementation of the World Plan of Action. We have a commitment to work together to insure the full implementation of the plan of action in our country upon our return from Mexico City.
I am pleased that so many nongovernmental leaders from around the world have assembled here in Mexico City to attend this conference and also the International Women's Year Tribune. I think that one of the strongest assets of the world conference is the interest of the nongovernmental organizations and the input they will provide the delegations to this U.N. conference.
In order to escalate the process of equality for women and for integration in development, we must devise strategies to change attitudes and behavior that have resulted from cultural conditioning. We cannot accomplish this by institutional change alone. Escalating strategies directed at attitudinal change involves not only the way men see women but also how women see themselves.
Women are learning that to compete is all right, for they are looking at themselves in a new light. They are learning that women must build support systems within existing structures-whether business, government, political, academic, or agriculture. Women must develop support systems to change the degrading sex-role stereotype and images of women in the mass media which perpetuate false depictions of women.
A myth prevails that women are not competitive-that they seem to lack motivation to progress and to participate in all phases of society.
However, we must keep in mind why this is perceived to be the case. We must remember the impact that conditioning has had on women. From the moment they are born, women's role in society has been dictated by culture and tradition. This affects the way their role is perceived by men, by the society, and by themselves.
We must examine and reassess old myths that society holds about the capacities, potential, and lifestyles of girls and women. Self-images for women are beginning to change, but the inaccurate and destructive sexist image projected must be rooted out.
We must make changes in the portrayal of women in program content and commercials in mass media-radio, television, newspapers. Educational materials in the schools-textbooks, visual aids, curricula-all need to be reexamined and changed to reflect the changing role of women and men in the society and to eliminate sex-role stereotyping.
To effect change in any area of life, women must seek and achieve leadership roles in management and public administration. Change will be accelerated when women serve in program planning, policymaking and decisionmaking roles in society.
Under the office of the Assistant Secretary for Education, the highest ranking official of education in the United States-currently a woman and a member of our delegation, I am proud to say-has developed programs based on special women's research being conducted at the National Institute of Education on changing sex roles in American culture, female role ideology, and educational aspiration, to mention a few.
Finally, this conference should serve as a stimulus to men as well as to women throughout the world. We hope that from this conference men will gain a vision of a more just society in which an equality for women and participation by them will mean a more varied and equitable sharing, to the benefit of men as well as women. It is the conviction of women globally that the goals of International Women's Year-of equality, development, and peace-are not goals for women but serious goals for a world society and that men no less than women stand to gain. It should be the objective of the conference to make this conviction take root and grow.
SourceDepartment of State Bulletin, August 18, 1975.
