While women face less discrimination and have gained a significant foothold in the world of business in the past 30 years, associations advocating women's issues remain critical, according to Patricia Harrison, president of the International Federation of Business and Professional Women (IFBPW; www.bpwintl.com), Australia. Harrison has seen these changes firsthand during her three-decade involvement with the IFBPW.

"We are now lobbying for childcare and maternity issues, flexible working hours, and job sharing," she says. "We aim to protect women from being penalized for being in the traditional careers, which is of paramount importance in today's aging population."

Women-owned SMEs also need support, Harrison says: "Seventy percent of Australia's SMEs are women-owned. These women left the multinationals because of the lack of flexibility. The IFBPW is helping these women to convince the government that they shouldn't be subject to the same laws as multinationals when it comes to issues such as super-annuation [compulsory employer pension contribution] and maternity allowance for their employees."

The IFBPW also operates mentoring schemes for women starting out in business. Harrison says the scheme works by "companies partnering the new firm, to help them overcome initial obstacles encountered in this infant stage."

IFBPW also has a program that encourages women aged 35 and under to network with one another and secure overseas placement; IFBPW helps them with visas and accommodations.

Marilyn Ong, vice president of the Women's Business Council in the Philippines (WBCP; www.wbc-phil.org) says women who would like to become entrepreneurs still have difficulty accessing credit.

In an effort to see these companies get off the ground, the WBCP set up a business center that provides one-stop assistance to women entrepreneurs, including access to financing, business matching, networking, and export workshops.

Another principal purpose of the WBCP is to address women's concerns in areas such as technology development, training, and access to markets and finance. Because English is the official language of the global economy, the WBCP is pushing the government to increase English proficiency.

The WBCP also conducts trade missions and investment workshops, and since the WBCP was founded in 1997, the organization's groups have visited the United States, China, and Europe.

The WBCP also conducts trade missions and investment workshops, and since the WBCP was founded in 1997, the organization's groups have visited the United States, China, and Europe.

"The HKPEA acts as a bridge for our counterparts in China," she says. "It's important to develop global trading ties. In our case, with China's accession into the World Trade Organization, it's even more crucial, because Hong Kong will become increasingly dependent on the mainland economically."