When programs-workers, students, administrators, board members, funders- become aware of the conditions of women's lives, what do they do? Do they change their programs and themselves so that women's experience is included? And, if they do, how is that inclusion allowed to influence what actually happens in the program?

Or, does women's experience continue to be marginalized within the program, not changing it? And, if women's experience continues to be marginalized, how is that exclusion allowed to influence what actually happens in the program?

Out of these assumptions, and the questions arising from them, came the identification of several issues.

First, women in programs, especially mixed-gender programs, need support in providing woman-positive learning settings.

Second, the reality of women's experience within these programs means that men's experience and participation needs to be recognized, identified, understood and acted upon-preferably by men with men.

Third, the awareness that learner-centred programs are not necessarily woman-positive means that we need to understand how feminist critical consciousness can be applied to the context of literacy programming.

And, fourth, we need to document the experience of those literacy programs that are involved in woman-positive programming so that we can learn more about how to go forward with more understanding, ease and effectiveness.

3.3 Reflecting on the themes, issues and assumptions
led to certain interpretations of this first phase work

When I remember my conversations with women across the country, hear the words in which they told their stories and recall the stories that were not put into words nor onto tape, I want to ask one particular question: How can we ensure that the disempowering conditions in women's lives are not replicated by the activities-either conscious or unconscious-of literacy programs?

As feminists, we know that becoming conscious of the ways in which we work must begin with an investigation of our own experience. We can move from the intentional understanding of our concrete experience to reflect on how it connects with the experience of others. Through an analysis of the way our experience is constructed within the context of our social and political realities, we can begin to develop a vision of how things might change. We can then move into an active exploration of change and its implications.

If literacy workers are not given the opportunity to do this kind of reflection, analysis, visioning and strategic work within their own lives and within their programs, then how can they support other participants in those programs to work on the same issues?

Women as literacy workers and as literacy students share a common experience. While it is important that they also recognize the differences in their experience-the different locations of their privilege and oppression-the commonalities must be understood in order that the programs can work on the level of social and political as well as individual change.

Just as students learn from their experience, so do workers teach or facilitate from their experience. We cannot take an appropriate leadership or animating role in working with women in our communities until we have explored the meaning of our own lives.

Yet, to do that exploration within a workplace without support is asking women literacy workers to put themselves in a very threatening situation.