Women-s Advancement Through Training

As a panel member Mazal Renford gave a paper on "the training of women and their participation in socio-economic development." She was forthright in defining the growing role of women in the affairs of the world: "They play a key role in their nations' economies, both through their contribution to the reproduction of the countries' human capital and through their economic activities, above all in the area of agriculture, in the generation of foodstuffs and in the informal sector. During the last decade, the rapid deterioration in the economic situation has forced them to increase their contribution to household income." This state of affairs makes even more paradoxical "the many obstacles specific to women which prevent them from having access to services and to assets of production under the same conditions as men, a situation which impacts on their mobility within and between sectors, and consequently on their ability to take advantage of new opportunities." The series of complaints about the injustices inflicted on women would definitely be more than enough to fill an encyclopaedia.

And yet, according to Mazal Renford, one of the keys in opening up the road to development is indeed in women's hands. For example, "by improving women's access to education" (something which she cannot over-emphasize) "and to productive resources, the following results can be achieved: increasing production; using loans more effectively; improving loan redemption arrangements; improving family nutrition; reducing infant and child mortality, and, lastly, reducing fertility rates." In other words: effectively combating the scourges which haunt the developing world. Seen from this viewpoint, introducing women to "micro-businesses" must play a vital role. This is Mazal Renford's credo, as well as constituting part of the raison d'etre for the Golda Meir Mount Carmel International Training Centre which she runs. Following the IDRC seminar, Mazal Renford, delighted at what had taken place, said that she felt herself "more informed on these questions than when she had arrived." Moreover, she admitted that she had been "very pleased at the intellectual calibre of the participants, who presented very weighty studies. For once, the proceedings were not run by international experts: The IDRC is to be congratulated." A pleasant surprise: "This was the first time in 20 years that I've taken part in proceedings on the role of women where the participants included not only women but men also. We'd become used to preaching to the converted - women. This time there was a real dialogue that developed between women and men, and there developed something of a desire to work together in a cooperative spirit."

Women's fight for more fairness in society is a universal struggle. In Israel, Mazal Renford told us, there had occurred a reversal in the improvement in women's status. Golda Meir, the woman prime minister who was such a symbol, was simply the tree hiding the hedge of prejudices. For this reason that women's organizations have been constantly bringing pressure to bear on institutions in order for the rights which are granted to women by Israel's basic laws to be respected. For example, the obligation of companies to have a woman on their boards of directors. Or the stricter application of the equal opportunities law. In practice, this means that when a job vacancy notice is published in the media, the position must be offered to both sexes, and any advertiser who fails to do so can be fined. Another victory that Israeli women have managed to achieve is the establishment within public institutions of the position of adviser on women's rights. There is a corollary to these important achievements, whose major role is to firmly fix in outlooks the absolute need for equal treatment of the sexes - that this struggle must be waged constantly and unceasingly.