for empowering women in the economy. Traditional savings schemes were also being used, especially by poor women, as an alternative to formal financial systems. There should be an effort to ensure that special credit and savings schemes for women did not lead to their further marginalization. The need for preferential treatment of women in the provision of credit and for simplifying procedures for access to credit was highlighted. The achievements of the Grameen Bank, which provides microcredit for a largely female clientele, were noted. 82. It was noted that women entrepreneurs had benefited from creating regional and international networks to expand markets and share experience. Women in rural areas 83. The economic situation of women living in rural areas was given special attention. There was a critical need to increase their productivity through, inter alia, the introduction of technology, including for the reduction of household chores. Men frequently controlled the intermediary distribution of products produced by women, limiting women’s benefits from their own production. 84. More and more rural women were expressing the need for credit and information, but they often lacked the networks and access to information and credit. On the positive side, it was noted that, in some countries, land policies and property laws were being revised to women’s benefit, and that a percentage of development assistance resources was being earmarked in some places to support credit schemes for rural women. Women in management 85. Breaking the glass ceiling that impeded women’s access to top management positions and avoiding the "sticky floors" on the lower levels of the labour market were critical for the advancement of women and for the mainstreaming of a gender perspective. A critical mass of 30 per cent women in top management positions was considered crucial. 86. Equal-opportunity laws and existing International Labour Organization (ILO) standards for equality in employment were not sufficient to address gender discrimination in the labour market, especially at top decision-making levels. To increase women’s participation in top management, a number of measures had been successful, including adoption of anti-discriminatory laws, introduction of changes in corporate practices, teaching aides for consciousness-raising, monitoring schemes and monitoring of employment practices. Commitment at the top was vital for changing the organizational culture and for placing women in management positions. Equal access to education, vocational training and enterprise-level training were important tools for qualifying women for top management positions. 87. Employers’ organizations had played an important role in influencing attitudes and in making a business case for women in top management in some countries. Trade unions should also play a role by pushing for implementation and by monitoring legislation and equal-opportunity policies. Women in the labour force 88. Women’s employment was central to the achievement of equality between women and men, and women’s access to education played an important role in access to work opportunities. It was noted that empowering women in the labour force -45-