CEDAW/C/PHI/5-6 267. The Philippines, through women leaders from the NCRFW and the academe, led the resource team for the development and delivery of Gender Information Session to all key APEC fora. It contributed to the conceptualization of the APEC Gender Focal Point Network, which is expected to institutionalize gender mainstreaming. In partnership with New Zealand, the Philippines prepared a paper on the impact of trade liberalization policies on women, which was presented at the Second APEC Ministerial Meeting on Women held in September 2002 in Guadalajara, Mexico. 268. Filipino women have also directly and indirectly assisted other countries on gender mainstreaming either through bilateral arrangements or through organizations like the UN and the Canadian International Development Agency, among others. Women and men officials have come for study missions on GAD from Indonesia, India, Bahrain, Mongolia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Cambodia, East Timor, the All China Women’s Federation, Nepal, Pakistan, and Korea. 269. Also, the national machinery on women participates and assists international organizations through the provision of inputs to UN meetings and conferences on such areas as women in armed conflict, information and communications technology and gender mainstreaming in their development assistance frameworks. 270. There has been an improvement in the participation of women in international fora and they have consistently championed gender issues in global policy discussions, including such issues as the rights of overseas workers including women, violence against women, and the need for integration of gender issues in economic policies. B. ACTIONS TAKEN 271. Measures taken to improve gender equality in representing the Philippine government at the international level have been subsumed in the discussion of promoting gender equality in government under Article 7. C. REMAINING ISSUES AND CHALLENGES 272. There is still the tendency for women’s representation to remain on areas traditionally associated with women such as human development or social concerns. One reason is that they also tend to dominate or head these portfolios. 273. Efforts to widen the scope of international representation and participation of women in areas such as economics, science and technology, law and global decision-making, among others, should be strengthened. Affirmative action should be taken in the form of mandatory inclusion of women representatives in the country delegation to international activities. Action should include training and exposure of women to the aforementioned fields in order to qualify them for positions or representations in international bodies. 274. Support systems that will ease the multiple burden of work, family and social activities should be strengthened and expanded to increase the opportunities for women to engage in international activities and organizations. 79