LOOKING AHEAD
The 58th World Statistics Congress of the International Statistical Institute will be in Dublin, Ireland August 21 – 26, 2010.
CWS INVITED SESSION: (26 August, 8:30 – 10:45) “Women’s Role in Fighting Poverty and the Informal Economy” (IPS025). The session objective is to present surveys and innovative statistical analysis that investigate the link between gender, poverty and women’s participation in the informal economy. Organizer: Denise Britz Silva
CWS SPECIAL TOPIC SESSION: (23 August, 11:15 – 13:30) “Women in the Labor Market- Facts and Challenges in the Arab Region” (STS039). The session sheds light on women’s rights in the labor market of Arab countries including the Mediterranean, Gulf, and the Al Maghrieb countries. Organizer: Ola Awad
CWS WOMEN'S NETWORKING RECEPTION: (24 August, 17:30 – 19:00) There will be Informal networking opportunities followed by round table discussions on the roles of the CWS. To promote mentoring and sharing of ideas, each table will include women interested in a specfic sector of statistics. Sponsor: Minitab, U.K. (Centre Foyer and Liffey A)
The Committee on Women in Statistics (CWS) is a committee of the International Statistical Institute. The committee is currently chaired by Dr. Cynthia Z. F. Clark, czfclark@cox.net. Dr. Clark is the Administrator of the National Agricultural Statistics Service of the USDA.
The committee was formally established in name during the ISI Beijing Session in August 1995, but held its first meetings during the ISI Session in Istanbul, Turkey in August 1997. The initial motivation for the committee was the concern among the ISI leadership over low female representation in the ISI and its Sections.
The committee’s Terms of Reference reflect this concern and deal with a number of factors closely related to this issue. The objectives of the Committee are to:
- Promote and strengthen the representation of women statisticians in the ISI and its Sections;
- Help in providing opportunities for women members to assume active and visible roles in the ISI and other statistical associations;
- Collect information on women in the statistical professions in different countries and to facilitate the flow of information among women statisticians;
- Stimulate interest in statistics among women and encourage women students in schools and colleges to study statistics;
- Support the compilation of statistics on women, with a view to generating relevant studies concerning women’s roles in the various activities in their countries.
The Committee has nine members. Dr. Clark has served as Chair of the Committee since 2003. Martha Farrar is the webmaster. Other Committee members serve to facilitate the above functions but also serve as representatives of women in various regions of the world.
The Committee has two venues in which it operates – the biennial conference of the ISI, and a website for exchange of information (http://www.nass.usda.gov/cws/). At the biennial conference, the committee organizes sessions, holds meetings of country representatives, and supports other activities for women statisticians.
The website is a repository of information about the committee. It provides short reports, papers, and summaries of activities in various countries. The exchange of information is facilitated by a network of country representatives – mid-career level statisticians who have a strong network of contacts. The country representatives have a three-fold role:
- Network with women in their country;
- Promote membership of women statisticians in ISI;
- Provide reports of activities of interest to women on the website.
We continue to seek country representatives to strengthen our network. Some countries have more than one representative, particularly if they represent different sectors of statistical work. If you are interested in the work of the Committee and want to be involved contact your regional representative or Dr. Cynthia Clark at czfclark@cox.net.