This guide to policy and programme options is an ILO contribution to the successful implementation of the work initiated by two milestone conferences in 1995 - the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing) and the World Summit on Social Development (Copenhagen).

This book outlines the significance of women's employment and the critical concerns and objectives of integrated and comprehensive strategies for action.

It describes the main types of action for improving women's economic position, and offers advice on how to enhance the quality of female human resources, increase investment in education and training for women, improve women's access to employment and income-earning opportunities, ensure better terms and conditions of work, and provide social protection for working women.

Many of the book's guidelines embody the principles of ILO standards, which are used as benchmarks in both the Beijing Platform and the Copenhagen Programme. In order for the goals of the Beijing and Copenhagen declarations to be achieved, both documents urge that ILO Conventions should be more widely observed.

It is hoped that this book will assist the social partners to provide more and better jobs for women, to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in the workplace and support particularly disadvantaged groups of poor women.