ILO to Celebrate International Women's Day Conference to highlight women achievers

Friday 2 March 2001
( ILO/01/07 )

Geneva ( ILO News) - On March 8, International Women's Day, the ILO is holding a conference to highlight the achievements of women who have managed to break through the pervasive but often invisible barriers to achievement that stymy the careers of so many others seeking equality of opportunity at the top echelons of international organizations and enterprises.

The conference, entitled The Glass Ceiling: Women of Power and Influence, includes participants from the United Nations community, non-governmental organizations, academia, the labour movement, business and media. It takes place in Room II, (R3 Level) of the ILO from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The proceedings are open to the public and the media, who are invited to attend and participate.

The term "glass ceiling" was coined in the United States in the 1970s to describe the array of attitudinal and organisational prejudices which block women from senior executive positions.

Panelists scheduled to address the gathering include

• Mr. Juan Somavia, Director-General of the ILO;
• Ms. Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General of the World Health Organisation;
• Ms. Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights;
• Ms. Germaine Greer, academic and author of "The Female Eunuch;"
• Mr. Walter Fust, Director-General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation;
• Ms. Mamounata Cissé, Assistant Secretary General of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions;
• Ms. Angeline Low, Managing Director of Ken Resources Ltd, a private investment company;
• Ms. Christine Ockrent, journalist and television news anchorwoman.

Following presentations by the panelists, an interactive question and answer session will take place, moderated by Ms. Zohreh Tabatabai, Director of the ILO's Department of Communication. A summary of a forthcoming ILO publication, Breaking through the glass ceiling: Women in management, by Linda Wirth, will be distributed at the event.

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For further information, please contact Ms. Tina Micklethwait, Deputy Director of ILO's Department of Communication at (+41 22) 799-6602.

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