While African governments are talking the talk of gender equality they are not yet walking the walk, according to Josephine Ouedraogo, Chief of the Africa Centre for Women of the Economic Commission on Africa (ECA).

In an interview on the eve of the Sixth Africa Regional Conference on Women, Ouedraogo admitted that since the last such conference in Dakar in 1994, "progress has not been that great. Even where governments are in public saying 'yes' to the advancement of women, in reality the mechanisms for making this happen are weak."

Noting that there are twelve areas of concern in the African Platform for Action, Ouedraogo said these could not possibly be left to one "women's ministry" but had to be "the responsibility of the entire cabinet". She added that even where the political will is present, the knowledge and understanding of "mainstreaming" are not there. We still do not understand that women are central to, and not just beneficiaries of, national development."

Because many of the bureaucrats who are responsible for mainstreaming gender are men, governments were asked to ensure that at least thirty percent of their delegates to the conference were men: "It is pointless for women to keep talking to women about women's issues. We have to bring men on board," the ACW Chief noted.

The "synthesis of national reports on progress made in the implementation of the Dakar/Beijing Platform for Action" to be presented by the ACW today concludes that the primary obstacle to advancing gender equality has been "the multiplicity of initiatives and projects to promote the advancement of women within the public sector, civil society actors and external co-operation agencies…. This diversity of strategies, the lack of co-ordination and lack of genuine expertise in the gender approach…all constitute major obstacles in the implementation of national plans of action."

Ouedraogo highlighted:

• The lack of understanding regarding women's unpaid labour, its contribution to the economy and the need to integrate this into national accounts.
• Globalisation, which holds potential advantages for poor women by creating new job opportunities, but also leaves them vulnerable to the vagaries of exploitative labour markets.
• The increase in conflict; in particular the alarming increase in gender-based violence associated with intra state wars such as those that have occurred in Rwanda and Somalia.
• Lack of progress in the area of women and decision making, with only 11 percent of women are in such positions.

On Tuesday the conference will break into six workshops on economic empowerment; education, training and access to science and technology; women, culture, family and socialisation; women's legal and human rights; gender disaggregated data; and political empowerment of women.

Ouedraogo said she was not hoping "for new issues to be raised, but for a better understanding of existing issues; and the formulation of better strategies for implementing solutions."