31. There is little evidence to confirm whether women in leadership positions would act differently from men in initiating conflict, but there is considerable evidence that women have different approaches to resolving conflict which can be brought to bear both nationally and internationally. E. Inequality in women’s access to and participation in the definition of economic structures and policies and the productive process itself 32. Women lack equal access to, and control over, land, capital, technology and other means of production owing to the predominant division of labour between men and women in most societies. Consequently, women have been largely excluded from the shaping of economic structures and policies. At the same time, women’s labour, which has contributed significantly to economic development, has generally been underpaid, undervalued and unrecognized. 33. Women have always contributed to national economies. They are the primary producers of food, constitute an increasing proportion of the economically active population, provide the skilled labour for economic sectors showing the fastest growth, and are increasingly the owners and managers of small and medium-sized enterprises. 34. However, women are infrequently part of the process of decision-making about economic structures and policies, either nationally or internationally, and are not well-represented in financial and other key economic institutions. In large enterprises, whether public or private, they are largely absent at management levels. Women tend to be segregated in a limited number of occupations, where pay is lower than for equivalent work by men. The value of their unremunerated contribution to the economy, whether in family enterprises or in domestic work, is unrecognized and not reflected in national accounts. 35. In most of the world, business has been considered a male preserve, reinforced by stereotypes and discriminatory practices. Women have lacked access to critical economic factors such as ownership of land, credit and training in technology. Women’s opportunities have been limited by discriminatory laws, inadequate education and training, inadequate sharing of domestic responsibilities, including child care, and inflexible working environments. The skills women have obtained as a result of their experience in household management, working in the informal sector and in the community has not been valued. Women doing remunerated work have largely been relegated to low-paying, low-prestige jobs and to the unregulated informal sector where exploitation is often easy. 36. Experience has shown that when women are given access to credit they apply it effectively. Given access to resources, technology and training, women can take the lead in expanding production. Women’s skills at performing many tasks simultaneously, their discipline and their ability to adjust to new situations constitute a major underutilized resource for development which can be released if economic structures and policies can be made responsive to them. -36-