The All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) held sessions on March 9 and 10 to study the spirit of the important speech delivered by President Xi Jinping at a symposium on securing a decisive victory in poverty alleviation. The ACWF vowed to unite and lead women across the country to overcome the impact of COVID-19 and to play their own role in clinching a complete victory in the fight against poverty and in realizing the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

The sessions urged women's federations at all levels to focus on lifting women out of poverty in deeply impoverished areas.

Women's federations were encouraged to adjust measures according to local conditions, concentrate their strengths on boosting women's confidence in shaking off poverty, improving their skills and capabilities, and implementing differentiated polices while ensuring that prevention and control work of the COVID-19 has been fully carried out. Online courses on planting, breeding, crafts and health care should be offered to improve women's skills. 

Female entrepreneurs, talented women and heads of women's poverty-alleviation demonstration bases need to be mobilized to play an exemplary role in lifting impoverished women out of poverty.

Efforts should be made to promote industries that are suitable for female workers to engage in, including high-quality agriculture, hand-knitting, e-commerce and rural tourism, and to support women's poverty alleviation workshops and factories to provide flexible employment for more women. 

Efforts should also be made to expand employment for women in the housekeeping service sector and to hold housekeeping training sessions so women can get jobs and increase their income in the sector.

The federations were urged to mobilize women to resume work and production in an orderly manner and help reduce enterprises' burden and stabilize and expand employment. The federations should cooperate with relevant departments to publicize policies, investigate the needs of returned workers and work on the epidemic prevention and control when migrant workers return to work.  

The federations should also learn about the difficulties facing women entrepreneurs and women starting businesses during the resumption of work and production and lend a helping hand to enterprises with difficulties in funding and recruitment.

The sessions also called for efforts in promoting online vocational training, online sales and recruitment and encouraging relevant associations and organizations to facilitate the business ventures and employment of female college students. More laid-off women workers should be hired by enterprises, which should support them to master vocational skills, obtain more income and live steadier lives. 

Huang Xiaowei, Secretary of the Leading Party Members' Group of the ACWF and Vice-President and First Member of the Secretariat of the ACWF, presided over the sessions.  

(Women of China)