Recalling its resolutions 3520 (XXX) of 15 December 1975, in which it decided to convene a world conference in 1980, and 33/189 of 29 January 1979, in which it, inter alia, emphasized the subtheme "Employment, Health and Education" for the Programme of Action for the second half of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace, and requested the Secretary-General to invite the regional commissions to convene preparatory meetings and seminars,

Recalling also Economic and Social Council resolution 1978/32 of 5 May 1978, in which the Council recommended the subtheme "Employment, Health and Education" for the World Conference of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace, and invited Member States to submit reports on national experience, which would include specific information on projects related to these three fields,

Bearing in mind that women will not be able to play an equal and effective role in the process of development unless they have equal opportunities for education and employment and have the health care facilities and social atmosphere necessary for the utilization of these opportunities,

Considering that the equal participation of women in the development process and in political life will contribute to the achievement of international peace,

Recognizing that intensification of international co-operation for accelerated economic and social progress in developing countries, through the establishment of the new international economic order, is an essential means for the progressive integration of women in the development process,

1. Decides upon the subtheme "Employment, Health and Education" for the World Conference of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace, whose purpose will continue to be to review and evaluate the progress made in the first half of the Decade and to recommend a programme of action, with necessary changes and readjustments in the World Plan of Action for the Implementation of the Objectives of the International Women's Year,/1 for the second half of the Decade, in order to attain its objectives of equality, development and peace;

2. Recommends, therefore, that the Conference should place emphasis on elaborating action-oriented plans for integrating women in the development process, particularly by promoting economic activities and employment opportunities on an equal footing with men through, inter alia, the provision of adequate health and educational facilities, and that the preparatory work for the Conference should take this into account;

3. Invites the regional commissions, the International Labour Organisation, the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, the United Nations Fund for Population Activities and any other United Nations agency concerned to review progress made as well as constraints and specific problems encountered in their technical and operational areas in the achievement of the aims and objectives of the Decade, and to suggest appropriate programmes for the second half of the Decade, with special emphasis on the subtheme "Employment, Health and Education", in co-operation with each other wherever feasible, to the regional preparatory meetings, if possible, or to the Conference;

4. Requests regional preparatory meetings to suggest appropriate programmes for the second half of the Decade, through a review and evaluation of the progress made and obstacles encountered in the first half of the Decade, with special emphasis on the subtheme "Employment, Health and Education", taking into account the following broad approaches:
   1. Technical co-operation;

   2. Research, data collection and analysis, including the strengthening of existing arrangements at the regional level to collect qualitative and quantitative data on the conditions and problems of women, especially relating to their employment and educational status;

   3. Dissemination of information to eliminate stereotyped concepts of masculine and feminine roles and exchange of information about projects related to the objectives of the Decade;

5. Requests the Secretary-General:
   1. To prepare a report for the Conference on the problems encountered, and the status and future role of both urban and rural women in the areas of employment and participation in economic life, especially at the policy-making level, education and technical and other kinds of training, and health, nutrition and family planning, basing it on the information received in response to his questionnaire on review and evaluation of progress in the first half of the Decade and on any other information available to him, including that received from Member States in response to Economic and Social Council resolution 1978/32;

   2. To take the above-mentioned information as well as the recommendations of regional preparatory meetings, the regional commissions and United Nations agencies into account in preparing documents related to item 9 of the provisional agenda for the Conference;/2

   3. To draw the attention of Member States to the present resolution, and to circulate it also to the regional commissions and relevant United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations having consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, and to regional preparatory meetings and seminars held to prepare for the Conference.

95th plenary meeting
29 January 1979