Practical Approaches to Increasing Women's Participation in Technical and Non-Traditional Occupations
Jane Wilson, of the newly established Women's Technical Institute (WTI) in Rexdale, Ontario, and Shirley Muir, Executive Director of the Women's Television Network Foundation (WTN), located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, were asked to present information on routing women into technical and non-traditional occupations. Program participants from WTI also participated in the presentation, sharing their experiences.

The WTN Foundation is a private, non-profit educational institution whose mandate is to advance women in the broadcasting industry. The Foundation currently has four separate programs:

• Women's Technical Internship: a six month program to train college graduates as camera operators, sound technicians, etc.
  
  
• Girls TV Camp: a summer camp for girls aged 12-14 to teach them lighting, audio, camera and editing skills to produce their own videos.
  
  
• The WTN dowment provides financial assistance to women already in the business to upgrade their skills.
  
  
• Cross Cultural Workshop: an equity and diversity workshop for girls, women, educators and employers who have received WTN funding in the previous year.

The programs work for women and girls because of the following principles:

• flexibility (in fee payment, scheduling, location)
• outreach (to diverse communities)
• research (staying in touch with issues in the field)
• networking (maintaining connections with participants, developing partnerships with colleges)
• employment connections (supports and connections to finding work after training), and
• personal approach (connecting participants and WTN management, creating a personal environment).

Muir believes in training educators as a way to reach girls when they are young, so their opportunities are not limited to a one-shot summer camp. It's also important to draw attention to the issues; ie. to get attention and recognition (via the media) for the barriers women face and the solutions being created.

The Women's Television Network Foundation can be found at: www.wtn.ca.

WTI is an education service of Rexdale MicroSkills and was opened in September 1999. It offers training for IT (Information Technology) occupations such as network management, web design and database design to women who are unemployed, underemployed, laid off, re-entering the workplace, sole support parents, immigrant, racial minority, older, social assistance recipients or survivors of abuse. WTI addresses both the gender gap in the IT field as well as the shortage of IT professionals.

Factors that make the program work for women are that it

• is women only
• has women instructors
• uses learning designs and course content relevant to women
• is flexible
• provides supports such as financial assistance, childcare, settlement services and counselling, and
• conducts advocacy with all parties who influence women's access to IT training and employment.

WTI can be found at: www.womentechinstitute.org (under construction), or emailed at: jane@womentechinstitute.org.

Discussion after these presentations focused on the many barriers remaining to women's equitable access to technical or non-traditional work. Women need supportive and informed counselling about new careers, financial support, access to information about new careers, access to training programs, commitment to gender equity from both the private and public sectors, and strong reinforcement, through media or public service campaigns, about women's abilities and opportunities to succeed.

Increasing Women IS Participation in Trades and Technology Occupations and Blue Collar Work
Trades, technology occupations and blue collar work (TTO/BCW) were identified in the on line discussions as an area where women are far from reaching their full access and potential. Less than 10% of technicians and technologists in Canada are women. Tamara Knox, President of Women Into Trades and Technology National Network (WITT-NN), and Eleanor Ross, Consultant with WITT's Construction Technology for Women Project, came to co-present information on facilitating women's entry into TTO/BCW.

WITT was created in the 1970s to increase the number of women employed in TTO/BCW. It provides training and consulting services to employers, industries, unions, government and educators, including gender analysis of marketing materials and publications, employment referrals for trained women to employers, entrepreneurial training for women, and employment equity training. WITT -NN also develops innovative projects and resources, including curriculum resources, training manuals and a set of national standards and guidelines for entry level training and exploratory courses.

WITT-NN can be found at: www.wittnn.com.