Enhancing Women's Access to Public Services in Conflict and Transition Settings

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs works in three areas: (i) it compiles, generates and analyses a wide range of economic, social and environmental data and information on which Member States of the United Nations draw to review common problems and to take stock of policy options; (ii) it facilitates the negotiations of Member States in many intergovernmental bodies on joint courses of action to address ongoing or emerging global challenges; and (iii) it advises interested Governments on the ways and means of translating policy frameworks developed in United Nations conferences and summits into programmes at the country level.

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The main roles of UN Women are: (i) To support inter-governmental bodies, such as the Commission on the Status of Women, in their formulation of policies, global standards and norms; (ii) To help Member States to implement these standards; and (iii) To hold the UN system accountable for its own commitments on gender equality.

UN DESA and UN Women worked with a SIPA team to develop an analytical report that provides recommendations on improving the way that the public sector can design and implement programmes to enhance the quality of and access to livelihood and employment services for women, in particular rural women It included a collation of good practices in public administration programmes that have improved the quality and access to livelihood and employment services for women.