US Women Connect Initiatives 1999-2000 Women Action 2000 Internet Focal Point: In September 1999, US Women Connect was designated as the U.S. focal point of the NGO Global Communications Network, Women Action 2000. Women Action 2000 was created to use electronic networking among NGOs globally to assess gains and gaps in the critical areas of concern of the Platform and to share experiences on advocacy. US Women Connect's website is the US Internet gateway to key information and campaigns related to NGO advocacy and follow-up on the 1995 UN Conference on Women.

Online Working Groups on Critical Areas of Concern: In spring 2000, USWC sponsored three online working groups on three areas of the Platform for Action and US Women's National Action Agenda: Women's Economic Security and Justice; Girls Speak Up; and Women in Power and Decision-Making. Each group operated for about five weeks and was moderated by an "expert," who was identified and prepared in online moderating by US Women Connect. USWC also supervised and provided ongoing technical support to the moderators. Seventy women participated in the Economic group; 25 in the Girls group; and 60 in the Decision-making group. The purpose of the online working groups was to provide a means for women and girls across the country to contribute their views to the Beijing +5 review process. Reports were prepared based on each group's deliberations, focusing on obstacles to progress and recommendations for future action which have been sent to members of the Presidents InterAgency Council on Women, selected members of Congress, and leaders of national women's organizations. 

To access the reports, www.uswc.org/reports.html.

Report Card on US Government Implementation of the UN Platform for Action: To mark the five-year review of the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women, US Women Connect issued a report card grading the US government on progress in implementing the UN Platform for Action.

In 1995, 189 governments signed the Platform for Action at the Beijing Conference, making commitments for action in "twelve critical areas of concern." US Women Connect (USWC) has promoted Platform implementation in the United States since 1996. At the June 2000 UN Special Session, known as "Beijing +5," governments presented reports on how they implemented the Platform in their respective countries. NGOs also prepared their own assessments of progress.

The USWC report card assesses US government performance in the twelve Platform areas: women and poverty; education and training; health; violence against women; armed conflict; the economy; power and decision-making; institutional mechanisms; human rights; the media; the environment; and the girl child. The government's grades range from an "F" for poor effort toward alleviating poverty to a "B" and "B-minus" for strong programs to prevent domestic violence and for the dramatic increase of women in appointed governmental positions.

At the report card's launch, USWC made the following statement: "What Beijing +5 is about is accountability. The US government has taken follow-up to the Beijing Conference seriously, and we applaud its accomplishments in many areas," said Suzanne Kindervatter, Chair of US Women Connect and Director of InterAction's Commission on the Advancement of Women. "But the five year review is just a milestone on the road to attaining women's and girls' rights and gender equality. USWC and other NGO coalitions will continue to act as watchdogs and as advocates--for holding our government accountable to fulfill all the promises made in Beijing."

To access the report card visit  www.uswc.org/reports.html.

The USWC received considerable coverage in the press, including a major article by the Associated Press which appeared in the Boston Globe and other newspapers; stories in the Pittsburgh Gazette, the National Review, and on NPR; and mention on CNN and ABC Nightly News.

Hold Government Accountable Report Card Workshops: During the UN review in June 2000, USWC convened several workshops which presented the federal report card and the idea of taking the report card "on the road" for state and local assessments. One workshop was co-sponsored with the Philippine NGO Scoreboard; another was co-sponsored with the regional organizers of the ten US regional meetings for Beijing +5. Participants were enthusiastic about the tool as a mechanism for coalition-building and advocacy, and follow-up plans are still in the works.

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