GAB Home->About

      UNCSTD
   

        About the GAB

        Board Members

        Regional Secretariats

        Activities

         Recommendations
             to the United Nations
             to National Governments

        Publications



About the GAB


The Gender Advisory Board was established in 1995 to provide advice to the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (UNCSTD).

It has two principal functions. The first is to monitor the implementation of the recommendations made by the Commission on gender and science and technology, and, when requested, to provide assistance in their implementation. The second is to advise the Commission on the gender implications of its new work programmes.

The Commission made a series of recommendations to the United Nations Economic and Social Council on the gender and science issue were based on a report from the Gender Working Group (GWG) which the Commission established in 1993. They were ratified by ECOSOC in July 1995. The main intention in setting up the GWG was to contribute to the discussions on science and technology at the Fourth World Conference on Women and Development which was held in Beijing in 1995.

As followup to the Gender Working Group report, the Board oversees activities which support national governments and UN agencies in implementing the GWG recomendations, provides support and advice to agencies for mainstreaming gender concerns in science and technology, and liaises with other UN agencies through the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development (UNCSTD).

The Working Group made science and technology policy recommendations to national governments, reviewed the performance of the United Nations system; and provided advice to other relevant organizations. It was made up of eight Commission members and eight women expert advisors. They were assisted by 20 consultants who prepared expert papers, and by many NGOs active in gender, science and technology; individuals; academics and UN Agencies. Three quarters of the GWG were from developing countries.

Among other things, this report:


The Gender Advisory Board oversees activities to support national governments and UN agencies in implementing the GWG recommendations. It also liaises with UNCSTD to ensure gender representation and perspective in its activities.

Activities of the Board include:

Funding for the first phase of work of the Gender Advisory Board (1996-2006) was provided by a grant from the Government of the Netherlands through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs.



[Home Page] | [Comments and questions ]
[Subscribe to WISAT-L | Visit WISAT]