Sex and gender, an additional ground of discrimination for minority women Concerning the specific situation of minority women, it is true that, like in the case of other groups of women except for rural women, it is not explicitly referred to in the CEDAW Convention. But the Convention is a living document allowing for further interpretation and clarification. The CEDAW Committee which monitors implementation of the Convention has been entrusted with the authority to develop its jurisprudence and continue to interpret the Convention in light of the knowledge developed in the area of human rights since its adoption. Over the past years the Committee has addressed ever more systematically the precarious situation of minority women in labour market and the numerous challenges and barriers they encounter in their access to economic life. It has expressed its concerns in the constructive dialogue with states parties during the examination of their reports as well as in its country-tailored concluding observations. Yet, states parties’ reports still contain little information about minority women’s involvement in the economic life. Most of this information comes from alternative sources, including from NGO’s, UN entities and academic analyses and studies. The concluding observations of the Committee offer useful guidance on the actions to be taken by states in order to improve minority women’s status, including in employment area. In order to accelerate de facto (or substantive) equality of minority women the Committee strongly recommends the use of temporary special measures (TSM )in accordance with Article 4, paragraph 1 of the Convention and its General Recommendation No 25, particularly in the areas of education, employment and political representation. TSM - which is the CEDAW’s terminology for positive or affirmative action - do not represent a form of discrimination against men and their application is limited in time. To be effective TSM must be understood as a valid opportunity to redress historical gender imbalances. They should be incorporated in a comprehensive equality strategy and be taken in conjunction with the general social policies and gender mainstreaming. TSM may cover a broad spectrum of tools, policies and practices, from benchmarks and quotas to targeted recruitment, hiring and promotion. Minority women’s status has also been tackled by the Committee in its recent General Recommendations on women migrant workers (GR 26), on older women (GR 27) and on the core obligations of states parties under Article 2 of the Convention (GR 28), in connection with the issue of multiple forms of discrimination. The Committee emphasizes (in GR 28, para.18) that “the discrimination of women based on sex and gender is inextricably linked with other characteristics that intersect women such as race, ethnicity, religion or belief” or other factors and that “it may affect women belonging to such groups to a different degree or in different ways than men”. Therefore, States Parties are called upon “to recognize and prohibit such intersecting forms of