My Involvement

My experience with NOW is just beginning. I did make a call to one of the ladies at our local NOW, and asked if they are currently taking volunteers, and she said yes. I also asked if there were any limitations as to who they can/cannot take or see: she said that they don't discriminate against race,age or gender. Although the organization is titled National Organization for WOMEN- there are men who get involved too. The organization is what I expected- they really are there to help promote gender equality amongst women. I plan to go and volunteer in the summer and hopefully through the fall. I felt very relaxed while talking to the people at the organization. All of the workers and volunteers are very welcoming and make everyone feel very comfortable. I really look forward to being able to volunteer at NOW, and hopefully help with women's gender equality.

The Commission for the Status of Women

The Commission for the Status of Women (CSW) is known best for trying to give equality to gender and advancement of women. Every year representatives meet to discuss the progress on gender equality, any challenges, set the global standards, and then begin to set and discuss policies (concrete) in order to promote gender equality and the advancement of women. The Commission for the Status of Women was established on June 21st, 1946. It was established by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The aim was to give reports and recommendations to the Council on promoting women's rights: in political, economic, civil, social and educational fields. CSW also make the Council aware of any immediate problems that need attention in the area of women's rights.

CSW currently consists of 45 Member States of the United Nations. Each Member state has one representative and are elected by the Council. Each member is elected for a period of 4 years. There is currently no volunteer work for the CSW, but people can always get involved with local organizations such as NOW. The Commission serves all women and men who want to fight for the equality of women’s rights. They look at all countries and see what can be done to better the life for women and families.

Some of the strategies used to get this organization out in to the world is by having local organizations to promote equality of women's rights. They also give speeches, hold rallies, and use various forms of advertisements. The target group would be women who face problems in their countries on the basis of their rights.

CSW holds annual meetings at the UN to discuss the progress and bring up suggestions as to how to continue to help women across the country. At each meeting they agree upon conclusions for priority themes for the year. After the agreed conclusions are set they contact Governments, intergovernmental bodies, and other istitutions on both local and regional levels. The goals is to continue to get information out to countires where women's rights are being interfered upon. The annual meetings will continue to go on to discuss the progress and recommendations of each country and what actions need to be made.

Again for more information on the CSW visit the website: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/index.html