Women2000: Women and decision-making

The importance of women's participation in decision-making at all levels has been stressed at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing as a matter of their human rights. This issue of Women2000 explores the question of women's role in decision-making, examining the gender dimensions of leadership; the role of women in the public and private sectors, organized labor, religious bodies, law enforcement, military and peacemaking. The need to increase women's participation in decision-making is addressed, as are alternatives to traditional paths to power, including the role of women in NGOs and women's entrepreneurship and banking.