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Interview of Joy Simonson about the Commission on the
Status of Women 2005
March 2005
Joy Simonson, GAA's observer to CSW 2005
Being an older person, a feminist and a woman, what do you think about the Social Security Privatization wanted by President Bush? What will it change for elderly and women especially?
Pres. Bush's proposal for private accounts is a very bad idea and one which would be particularly damaging for women. Because women earn less, have more periods of absence from the labor force, tend to work in lower paid jobs, live longer than men and are more dependent on Social Security to keep them from poverty, they cannot afford to have deductions taken from their Social Security benefits. And they cannot afford the risk of investing their scarce funds in stock markets which fall as well as rise. Also, the cost of administering such a program would be outrageous, whereas Social Security is extremely efficient.
What did you think about the Commission on Status of Women that took place that took place at the United Nations? Although you stayed only a short time, how did this meeting differ from Beijing Plus Five? Has the position of the US Administration in Washington changed on women? How do you evaluate this?
As compared to Beijing Plus 5, I found it terribly confusing to find meetings, meet people, etc. Being an American was the worst of the experience because of the terrible amendment the U.S. Government proposed to the consensus document until the remarkable last minute withdrawal of that language. For me the difference between the US Delegation in 2000 and 2005 was huge. I either knew or admired our then-ambassador and many of the delegates and State Dept. staff and felt able to have some small input in their deliberations. The opposite was the case this year, obviously reflecting the drastic change in our administration.
In your opinion, what is THE SINGLE most important challenge for older women in the world?
As for the most important issue facing older women in the world, I think it has to be economic security. Poverty faces older women more than other groups in all regions.
For further information about the Commission on
the Status of Women, click on the link below:
http://www.globalaging.org/agingwatch/events/CSW/index.htm
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