Women should seek greater political power to influence policies ridding society of discrimination, according to a conference speaker.

Ms. Paula Cox was speaking at a meeting organised to discuss lessons learnt following the Beijing Women's Conference.

Called `From Beijing to Bermuda, Defining Women's Issues Locally', the conference at Bermuda College was organised by the Akinstall Foundation.

Ms Cox, the public relations officer for the PLP, said there were still too few women in public leadership making public policy, even though their numbers had increased.

"We have considerable voting power but we do not always recognise that. More women need to stand to be elected for office and more women need to recognise the power of their vote,'' she said.

"It is essential to be organised to be heard and have the power to influence policy at all levels. We have to make our voices heard.'' She said the primary responsibility for the advancement of women lay with Government, but it was still up to women to shape their own future.

"It is up to women to believe they can make a difference. We must all take part in the political process and the decision making process,'' she said.

Other speakers at the meeting discussed issues ranging from education, to the media, the law regarding women and practical issues such as shopping with children in tow.

Mrs. JoCarol Robinson, President of the Women's Advisory Council, said with a new Ministry now dealing with women's issues there should be a person working full-time on women's affairs.

She also called for better career education -- in particular for young girls who were often ignorant about possible jobs.

"Women are receiving less information about work because we are dealing with the traditional attitude that when they leave school they will get married.'' She added: "It is not a question of building up men, it is building up ourselves. We have to empower ourselves and build up our personal self-esteem.

We have to become a kinder, gentler nation encompassing all.'' On the law, Mrs. Honor Desmond-Tetlow, a committee member with Women in International Trade, said it was a basic tenant that all rights applied to everyone regardless of race, sex or religion.

She said it should be enshrined in Bermuda legislation that women have the time and freedom to give birth, recover and spend time with their family without running the risk of losing their job.

Mrs. Desmond-Tetlow said women should have the right not to be discriminated against in recruitment and in pay and said there was a need to have proper workplace child care for women.

Although legislation is to be introduced in the House regarding stalking, there was a law that provided against invasion of privacy and intrusion.

"Clearly new legislation should define this but in the meantime women should be using this and women should be aware it is there.'' Ms Elizabeth Harvey, senior writer on the RG Magazine, was invited to speak on the `Use of the Mass Media to Promote Women's Positive Contribution to Society'.

She said if ways were to be found to portray women and their contributions to society it could not be done artificially -- such as through a weekly column for women.

Ms Harvey added that for the media to be balanced "we need a more balanced male to female ratio'' Of the nine general news reporters at The Royal Gazette , she said, only two were women.

She did not blame employers and said: "I would therefore encourage more young Bermudian women to consider a career in journalism.'' Ms Harvey added: "I say that if women want to be heard as decision makers, politicians and bosses they must be even more prepared to grasp opportunities, face challenges and bang all the harder on that perceived glass ceiling.'' But she also believed the media should show more interest in domestic violence, why women who are stalked and threatened by a former partner have only a piece of paper to defend themselves with and why young girls were throwing away opportunities by throwing away their education.

On a more day-to-day note, Mrs. Audrey Kelly, President of Meet-a-Mum Association, said there were many areas where the needs of mothers were not met.

She said when she met with Corporation of Hamilton officials to discuss setting up baby changing areas, she was told a mother could go home to feed a child and then come back to town.

Access to shops was also difficult for mothers with children yet it was the mother who did most of the family shopping. Some stores, such as Phoenix and Cooper's, she said, had provided places for children.

But she added: "The main reason our requests are falling on deaf ears is because we are appealing to middle-aged men who cannot remember the problems their wives had 20 or 30 years ago.''