This 1987 ESCAP monograph documents the establishment of the Women’s Information Network for Asia and the Pacific (WINAP) and reports the proceedings and recommendations of the Regional Seminar on the Development of a Women’s Information Network held in Saitama, Japan, from 1–6 December 1986. The publication reviews national, subregional and regional information systems relating to women, including information resources available within United Nations agencies and networks operating in Asia and the Pacific. It proposes methodologies and indicators for monitoring implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), emphasizing the collection of sex-disaggregated demographic, educational, economic, legal, political and social statistics. The volume also examines deficiencies in existing data on women, especially regarding economic participation, poverty, rural women and access to resources, and recommends measures to improve information systems and statistical methodologies. Finally, it presents a decentralized model for WINAP, defining objectives, organizational structures, focal points, databases, networking functions and implementation strategies to support the advancement of women throughout Asia and the Pacific