5 Appendices
5-1 The Canadian Congress of Learning Opportunities for Women (CCLOW) the sponsor

The Canadian Congress for Learning Opportunities for Women is a national, voluntary, feminist organization with networks in every province and territory. CCLOW advocates equality between women and men by promoting equal participation in our educational, political, economic, legal, social, and cultural systems. To overcome discrimination based on gender, age, race, class, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, CCLOW focuses on improving educational and learning systems.

To achieve its mandate, CCLOW:

  • advocates for the improvement of educational and learning programs, and consults with governments and institutions,
  • researches women's learning issues,
  • develops programs and learning tools, creates and implements innovative learning models,
  • shares and exchanges information, and
  • organizes public education, networks, and co-operative activities.

Since 1979, CCLOW has encouraged the development of literacy policy, practice, materials and programs that will respond to the learning needs of women and the reality of their daily lives. It has represented and articulated the particular needs and concerns of adult women learners when working in coalition with other organizations.

CCLOW has sponsored and produced several research studies and reports about women's experience with adult literacy and basic education programs.

Its Learning Resource Centre has increased its holdings of materials related to women and literacy and responds to requests for information from across Canada.

The CCLOW 1987 brochure let's talk about women and literacy identifies some of the barriers which block women's participation in literacy programs and proposes ways in which literacy programs can be made more accessible to women. The CCLOW project Literacy materials for women is in the final stages of production. It identifies, evaluates and lists Canadian English literacy materials for women.

CCLOW research on women and literacy has already identified many issues

In the 1970s, Dorothy MacKeracher and others produced Adult basic education for women: A model for policy development. In the early 1980s, Paula De Coito produced Women and adult basic education in Canada: An exploratory study. These studies documented the needs of women students:

  • flexible program schedules,
  • curriculum and literacy materials,
  • affordable and available childcare and transportation, and
  • accessible counselling and other support services.

In 1988, Susan Wismer produced Women's education and training in Canada: A policy analysis that indicates that women's participation in education and training programs and in positive employment requires policy development and resources for policy implementation. The priority policy changes include:

  • equal pay for work of equal value and
  • equal employment opportunity.

However, policy change is not enough. Wismer outlines the essential need for restructuring work and family in formal and non-formal sectors of the economy. CCLOW, she says, must focus on the needs of doubly disadvantaged women-women who are poor, who have low educational levels, who are disabled, who are immigrants, who are members of the native peoples or who come from geographically isolated areas.


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