Final Declaration … Beyond the Debt Crisis: Structural Transformation

Abstract

The following statement was produced by the participants in an all-woman seminar on global economic issues which formed part of the ongoing work of the Women’s Alternative Economic Summit. It was timed to coincide with the United Nations special session of the General Assembly on international economic co-operation which took place from 23 to 28 April 1990. The seminar, which lasted three days, brought 50 women together from 22 countries with an additional 12 representatives of international organisations. Most of the women were from the developing countries, but among our European group was a Hungarian sociologist, a warmly welcomed presence and one which reflected the new contours of a changing world. Participants came from all regions of the world and from a variety of different contexts; there were women grass-roots activists, government ministers, project designers, campaigners and academics, representing a broad spectrum of experience and opinion. The agenda for discussion at the seminar focused on the issues raised for women by stabilisation and adjustment policies; topics ranged from macro to micro level issues, including food security, privatisation, the informal sector and waged employment, household structure, political responses, and increasing violence against women.