CHAPTER THREE: DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL GOVERNANCE Best Practice 2: Observatory on the employment of women An observatory on female employment was instituted in 2005 in the Ministry of Energy and Mines and several enterprises have created their own female observatory. These include Sonatrach, Sonelgaz, Naftec, Enafor and, recently, Naftal. These observatories are defined as supervisory, analytical and recommending bodies. This decision was taken to promote employment of women in a sector that is recognised as being the preserve of men. Women represent 15 per cent of the 70 000 employees employed by Sonatrach and its subsidiaries. Developing the employment of women will make it possible to encourage managers to take the qualifications of female staff into consideration. The Ministry estimates that many female university graduates come onto the employment market each year (they represented more than 61 per cent of graduates in 2004). It is necessary to take action to ensure that the percentage of women recruited is significantly higher than that of men. 333. 9 The problem of access to decision-making was raised on several occasions during the various consultations held by the CRM in Algiers and the wilayas. Members of the CRM noted that, despite the widespread acknowledgement of the role played by Algerian women in the fight for national liberation and also during the serious national crisis, there is still a negative perception of women. Many feel that the poor access of women to decision-making is linked, among other things, to their lack of competence, the fact that they are not sufficiently involved in their professions, or the natural disaffection associated with their gender in political and public affairs. Disparities, gaps and problems are not analysed on the basis of gender, a concept that is not sufficiently widespread or understood. The Algerian state has adhered to international instruments on the political rights of women without making any reservations; the same is true of sections 7 and 8 of the CEDAW. Through these sections, Algeria has undertaken to ensure that women enjoy, in the same way as men, conditions that allow the realisation of their rights in the political and public arena. The country has also subscribed to sections 2, 3, 7 and 8 of the same convention, which in fact require the adoption of any measure aimed at achieving this objective, including what can be referred to as “positive discrimination or affirmative action measures”. These are distinct, special measures aimed at accelerating the establishment of de facto equality between men and women, and at providingthe conditions necessary for women to take their place in political and public spaces. 9 Given that such measures are only temporary, These measures are set out in the Beijing Programme of Action in the priority sphere entitled “Women and decision making”: “… Calling on governments notably to balance the proportion of men and women in governmental bodies and commissions, public administrations and judicial services, especially by setting specific objectives and by implementing measures aimed at substantially increasing the number of women in public office in order to achieve equal representation in all government and public administration positions, where necessary by means of affirmative action; introduce measures especially, where necessary, in the electoral systems, which will encourage 110