• Carole J. Petersen, professor of law at the William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaii at Manoa

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is one of the most widely embraced international conventions, ratified by 189 states including states in East Asia. But what impact has it had on the actual lives of women in East Asia? In this webinar, Carole Petersen, a law professor and CEDAW expert at the University of Hawaii, will present a comparative case study of CEDAW’s implementation in three East Asian jurisdictions: Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea. All three jurisdictions have a constitutional right to equality and well-developed economies, which should assist the governments in complying with their obligations under CEDAW. Yet the convention’s real-life impact differs significantly among the three. Professor Petersen will consider what factors may account for these differences.