Jane Harman: “at the U.N. Fourth Conference on Women, it was the First Lady, Hillary Clinton, who said there is no one formula for how…”

“at the U.N. Fourth Conference on Women, it was the First Lady, Hillary Clinton, who said there is no one formula for how women should lead our lives. I was there as a member of the bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation, and her remarks rang true to a crowd as diverse and multihued as it was experienced and dedicated. The label radical may fit a few--very few--attendees, but it does not fit the conference. The tenor was all business, and the conversation was realistic about the conflicts between work and child-bearing and about building on the substantial record created by previous U.N. gatherings. Building on a record means action for the United States, as well as China and other countries, and the first action the United States must take here is to ratify CEDAW, the Convention to End Discrimination Against Women, which was submitted for ratification in 1980 and has been pending in the U.S. Senate for 15 years. Yesterday a group of us called on the Senate to act now. It is embarrassing that 144 countries around the world, including all industrialized countries, have ratified CEDAW and we have not. Act now. Ratify CEDAW.”