Create an enabling environment for equal participation 95. Actions should be taken to provide an enabling environment for women to participate in decision-making. These should include providing appropriate social support facilities such as day care, making career patterns flexible, and revising administrative rules and customary practices for decision-making to adapt them to the needs of both male and female decision makers and managers to reconcile family and public responsibilities. Use information to facilitate support for women in decision-making 96. Dissemination of information about participation of women in decisionmaking as well as about women’s views is an important means for monitoring progress and mobilizing for change. Data from the public and private sectors should be collected, analysed and disseminated at both the national and the international levels on the number and proportion of women in decision-making bodies, on the nature of obstacles faced and on the qualitative nature and effects of their participation. Governments should report, in detail, especially through the media, on participation, and national researchers should be supported by Governments and non-governmental organizations. The United Nations should continue to collect and disseminate statistics on women in decision-making and promote analysis of the differences made in public and private decision-making, both in terms of the types of decisions made and in the nature of decision-making itself, when the proportion of women increases. H. Integrate gender-equality dimensions into policy and programme planning and implementation at all levels and in all areas 97. Actions should encourage mainstreaming of gender-equality issues at all levels and in all areas of policy and programme planning by establishing appropriate, adequately resourced and strategically placed informationgathering, dissemination and monitoring mechanisms. Actions should be taken by Governments, non-governmental organizations and the United Nations system, on the basis of mutual support. Generate and disseminate gender-disaggregated data and information for planning and evaluation 98. Governments and the United Nations system should increase the collection of statistics and indicators disaggregated by sex and develop new quantitative and qualitative indicators that can show the gender dimension of policies and programmes. Measures should be taken to strengthen and increase the analysis of this information in the context of policy development, monitoring and evaluation and adequate support should be given to research institutions developing analysis, especially on emerging and priority issues having a gender dimension. The resulting information should be widely disseminated at both the national and the international levels. International cooperation should be intensified in this area. Strengthen national machinery for the advancement of women for the implementation of the Platform for Action 99. Actions should be taken to define a clear mandate for national machinery, place them at the highest political level of Government, provide adequate staff and resources, upgrade the positions, provide financial autonomy and direct international linkages with other national machinery and with the United Nations -49-