174. By local, national, regional and international business organizations and non-governmental organizations concerned with women’s issues: Advocate, at all levels, for the promotion and support of women’s businesses and enterprises, including those in the informal sector, and the equal access of women to productive resources. Strategic objective F.4. Strengthen women’s economic capacity and commercial networks Actions to be taken 175. By Governments: (a) Adopt policies that support business organizations, non-governmental organizations, cooperatives, revolving loan funds, credit unions, grass-roots organizations, women’s self-help groups and other groups in order to provide services to women entrepreneurs in rural and urban areas; (b) Integrate a gender perspective into all economic restructuring and structural adjustment policies and design programmes for women who are affected by economic restructuring, including structural adjustment programmes, and for women who work in the informal sector; (c) Adopt policies that create an enabling environment for women’s selfhelp groups, workers’ organizations and cooperatives through non-conventional forms of support and by recognizing the right to freedom of association and the right to organize; (d) Support programmes that enhance the self-reliance of special groups of women, such as young women, women with disabilities, elderly women and women belonging to racial and ethnic minorities; (e) Promote gender equality through the promotion of women’s studies and through the use of the results of studies and gender research in all fields, including the economic, scientific and technological fields; (f) Support the economic activities of indigenous women, taking into account their traditional knowledge, so as to improve their situation and development; (g) Adopt policies to extend or maintain the protection of labour laws and social security provisions for those who do paid work in the home; (h) Recognize and encourage the contribution of research by women scientists and technologists; (i) Ensure that policies and regulations do not discriminate against micro, small and medium-scale enterprises run by women. 176. By financial intermediaries, national training institutes, credit unions, non-governmental organizations, women’s associations, professional organizations and the private sector, as appropriate: (a) Provide, at the national, regional and international levels, training -74-