E/2002/27 E/CN.6/2002/13 effectiveness varied from context to context. Some speakers favoured a more critical and differentiated approach to microcredit, as it could also lead to indebtedness and the even greater poverty of women. It was noted that, by itself, microcredit was insufficient and had to be accompanied by other measures, such as training. Mainstream financial services for women also had to be enhanced. Social protection systems should be extended to cover economic sectors dominated by women, such as the informal economy and casual and flexible forms of work. Women workers’ rights, especially in export processing zones, had to be protected. International Conference on Financing for Development was an opportunity to address that matter. 16. Participants stressed that external debt reduction or cancellation was necessary to free resources for poverty eradication programmes in low- and mediumincome countries. Opportunities should be sought to make the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers more gender-sensitive. 14. Insufficient statistical data and lack of appropriate indicators made it difficult to measure poverty among women, assess progress in the empowerment and advancement of women and ensure accountability. Many participants called for the development of indicators, in particular impact and outcome indicators, as well as for the increased collection of sex-disaggregated data, to improve the monitoring of and accountability for the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and the goals contained in the Millennium Declaration. Research institutions had an important role in the development of qualitative and quantitative measurement tools. Participants discussed the danger of “misplaced concreteness”, inherent in the predominant use of aggregates and average statistics, such as gross domestic product, average household income and the rate of economic growth. Those average statistics and indicators tended to hide important disparities and realities, but were commonly used for policy-making. Careful gender analysis of particular situations could avoid misleading or unwarranted conclusions and indicate appropriate policy actions and programme interventions. 15. Tools for gender analysis and for increased accountability also needed to be improved. Gender budgeting was considered to be an important instrument for monitoring the distribution of resources and for increasing accountability for commitments made. Financial resources had to be mobilized to accelerate the implementation of the commitments of Beijing. In that respect, speakers called for an increase in official development assistant. It was also suggested that a larger share of official development assistance as well as of national budgets should be invested in social areas, such as education and health. The forthcoming 57