Women: A World Survey

by Ruth Leger Sivard, Hillary Rodham Clinton (foreword)

Women represent half the world’s population. And yet in country after country, they lack access to education, jobs, health services, & political & civil rights. Where women lack access to education, health care & economic oportunity, children tend to be less educated, less well nourished, & families tend to be both larger & poorer. Where women are illiterate, the environment is often poorly managed & democracy remains fragile.
An important lesson of the past several decades is that where women prosper, countries prosper. We know that investing in women, in their health & education, is vital to improving global prosperity. And we know that investing in women, so that they can assume their rightful places in decision-making bodies, is essential to continued democracy & prosperity.
But what is it that we must do to bring women fully into our national lives? Among other things, women must be able to attend school & learn, not just to be literate, but to acquire the knowledge & skills--of medicine, of engineering, of management, of computers & so forth--that will contribute to the prosperity of their families & nations. Women must have access to health-care, especially as expecting or new mothers. Wives, together with their husbands, must have access to family planning services to enable them to make voluntary, responsible & informed choices about the size of their families. Furthermore, children--girls as well as boys--must have access to preventive & curative care that will enable them to grow into healthy adults.
Often the discussion of such problems as education & health-care for girls & women is viewed as “soft”, labelled dismissively as a women’s issue belonging, at best, on the edge of serious debate about all the problems we confront on the cusp of the 21st century. I want to argue strongly, however, that the questions surrounding social development, especially of women, are at the center of our political & economic challenges.
Too often a deafening silence still sounds when women’s concerns are raised. Ruth Leger Sivard’s report, Women: A World Survey, should inspire all of us to redouble our efforts to further women’s progress around the world.--Hillary Rodham Clinton, NY Senator, Secretary of State

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

The World Military & Social Expenditures report 1st appeared in 1964, when Ruth Leger Sivard was in charge of international economic studies at the Arms Control & Disarmamant Agency, the government agency responsible for overseeing the country’s armament & disarmament. In response to requests from the State Department & members of the government who needed accurate information in this field, she began collecting statistics on national spending. This was before the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) began to publish an annual newsletter, & there was no other yearly issue of detailed information on world military spending.
As she responded to official requests, Ruth Sivard, who is a sociologist & economist, realized that figures on arms spending would be even more eloquent if they could be set against the amounts devoted to spending in the social sector & other priority needs. This is why the 1st report prepared by her staff & published in 1/66 by her agency included data concerning not only military spending on defense, but also funds devoted to education, health & economic aid to other countries. In 1968, the report’s title was changed to World Military Expenditures, but it continued to compare social spending with military spending & it became the most frequently requested of all the agency’s publications.
In 1973, however, the agency decided to exclude from the report any mention of social needs either in the USA or elsewhere. This radical change was made following complaints by the Defense Department. In a memorandum addressed to the President, the Defense Secretary emphasized that the comparisons shown in the report made it difficult for him to obtain congressional approval for the provisional budget prepared by his department.
Sivard was convinced that it was more vital than ever to warn the public against the social & economic consequences of the arms race. Following the change in government, she decided to resign from her official duties in order to continue bringing out her report, but on a completely independent basis.
Sivard formed a non-profit publishing company, World Priorities Inc., in order to produce her book. Her new report, published in 12/74 & now entitled World Military & Social Expenditures, sharpened the analysis & gave a broader international range of social indicators.
Since then Sivard has been both author & publisher of her report, but she wishes to point out that this independent project would never have seen the light of day if it hadn't been for the generous assistance of several groups which provided her with very detailed data & the organizations which supported her venture. Eminent specialists & members of international institutions also gave their support to the project. UNESCO, thanks to Carceles Breis, was her 1st professional partner: in 4/74, she started to receive statistical data concerning education. Since then, she received increasingly detailed data from this organization every year until she ceased publication in 1996 for health reasons.
The report was distributed worldwide, with more than 20,000 copies printed in English yearly. It has also appeared in French, Norwegian, Swedish, Dutch, Finnish, Japanese, German & Spanish.
Among the many commendations Ruth Leger Sivard has received is the prestigious UNESCO Peace Education Award in 1991, its former recipient being Mother Theresa.

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 5 out of 5]

1986 was probably the last year I purchased any of Sivard's studies, those being her World Military and Social Expenditures 1985 and this one, her first study of the global position of women. So impressed was I with this that I have since passed it on to a woman doing related research.