Doris Anderson, President,
National Action Committee on
the Status of Women (NAC)

“NAC has 207 member organizations, representing over 2 million women. A lobby, it pressures government. We are structured into a variety of committees, including one on employment and micro technology. We are presently considering the possibility of moving our offices to Ottawa, closer to the federal government, which it is our mandate to lobby.

NAC has great potential to exert pressure wherever it is needed. We have various means of influencing decisions. For example, we are now preparing a brief for the Labour Canada Task Force on Microelectronics and Employment, headed by Margaret Fulton.

We think that it is time to pressure the government for the establishment of a workers' research institute of the type already in existence in Norway. This institution could study the kinds of problems women are going to be facing in the workforce, and propose solutions. There is money available for this - some of it could come from the National Science and Engineering Research Institute of Canada. Pressure for this should come out of this conference. The Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women has money to do research, and should be directed to start looking at the effect of microtechnology on women's health.

Networking is necessary between organizations. We will cooperate with the three other sponsoring organizations, and other women's groups, to pursue the issues raised during this conference.

NAC is prepared to do the lobbying and pressuring required, but other people must get involved across the country to get better legislation, research, to pressure provincial departments of education to improve curriculum. Finally, we are open to suggestions from the workshops. ”

Eileen Clarke, President, Canadian
Federation of University Women

“ Our federation was founded in 1919. We have 120 clubs across Canada, totalling over 12 thousand members. We were instrumental in having the Royal Commission on the Status of Women established in 1967, as a result of which, the Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women was set up. We lobbied all levels of government during the recent constitutional debate.

One of our purposes is to encourage our members to participate in all aspects of public affairs. We try to get women into decision-making positions, on boards, commissions. We try to get women elected as mayors and MPs.