Committee recommends that States parties ensure that women in general, and affected groups of
women in particular, have a role in the design, implementation and evaluation of such programmes.
Collaboration and consultation with civil society and non-governmental organizations representing
various groups of women is especially recommended.
35. The Committee draws attention to and reiterates its general recommendation 9, on statistical
data concerning the situation of women, and recommends that States parties provide statistical data
disaggregated by sex in order to measure the achievement of progress towards women’s de facto or
substantive equality and the effectiveness of temporary special measures.
36. States parties should report on the type of temporary special measures taken in specific fields
under the relevant article(s) of the Convention. Reporting under the respective article(s) should
include references to concrete goals and targets, timetables, the reasons for choosing particular
measures, steps to enable women to access such measures, and the institution accountable for
monitoring implementation and progress. States parties are also asked to describe how many
women are affected by a measure, how many would gain access and participate in a certain field
because of a temporary special measure, or the amount of resources and power it aims to
redistribute to how many women, and within what time frame.
37. The Committee reiterates its general recommendations 5, 8 and 23, wherein it recommended
the application of temporary special measures in the fields of education, the economy, politics and
employment, in the area of women representing their Governments at the international level and
participating in the work of international organizations, and in the area of political and public life.
States parties should intensify, within their national contexts, such efforts especially with regard to
all facets of education at all levels as well as all facets and levels of training, employment and
representation in public and political life. The Committee recalls that in all instances, but
particularly in the area of health, States parties should carefully distinguish in each field between
measures of an ongoing and permanent nature and those of a temporary nature.
38. States parties are reminded that temporary special measures should be adopted to accelerate
the modification and elimination of cultural practices and stereotypical attitudes and behaviour that
discriminate against or are disadvantageous for women. Temporary special measures should also
be implemented in the areas of credit and loans, sports, culture and recreation, and legal awareness.
Where necessary, such measures should be directed at women subjected to multiple discrimination,
including rural women.
39. Although the application of temporary special measures may not be possible under all the
articles of the Convention, the Committee recommends that their adoption be considered whenever
issues of accelerating access to equal participation, on the one hand, and accelerating the
redistribution of power and resources, on the other hand, are involved as well as where it can be
shown that these measures will be necessary and most appropriate under the circumstances.
1
Indirect discrimination against women may occur when laws, policies and programmes are based on seemingly gender-neutral
criteria which in their actual effect have a detrimental impact on women. Gender-neutral laws, policies and programmes
unintentionally may perpetuate the consequences of past discrimination. They may be inadvertently modelled on male lifestyles and
thus fail to take into account aspects of women’s life experiences which may differ from those of men. These differences may exist