3. Work and Employment Patterns

• In January 1983, the CSN published a booklet, entitled "Les puces qui piquent nos jobs," which deals with problems related to the implementation of technology in the workplace and the demands of labour.

• Sari Tudiver, Project Coordinator for the Manitoba Council for International Cooperation, is doing research on the impact of microtechnology on the work of women in Canada and the Third World. She is particularly interested in means to ensure that technology will contribute to the progress, rather than the deterioration of the quality of life of women in these countries.

• The Director of the Office of Equal Opportunities for Women, Public Service Commission of Canada, Johanna Hickey, organized an information session, which led to the creation of a task force to examine the present state of automation within the Public Service. This group will present its recommendations to managers of all federal departments.

• The Affirmative Action Program of Ontario's Department of Health offered four, two-day sessions to department employees, to inform them of the impact of microtechnology on office work.

• Better informed because of our conference, Bonnie Carroll, Coordinator of Equal Opportunities at the Public Service Alliance of Canada, continues her work within the Committee of Technological Change. In that capacity, she has been involved in research to educate members, and has contributed several articles for publication in the weekly information bulletin of her organization.

4. Education, Training and Retraining

• A variety of courses and workshops was set up by Clare Devlin, then Coordinator of Women's programs at Algonquin College in Ottawa. These courses were so successful that they were repeated during the 1982-83 winter session. As she had promised, Claire took steps to make federal departments more aware of the need to retrain women, although she claims to have had little success yet.

• Andra Budden of Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, Toronto, has designed and established a pilot project, entitled "Contemporary Careers: Options and Opportunities." The program includes six major components: 1) acquire computer literacy; 2) build strength in math; 3) develop research and problem-solving skills; 4) discover and refine management talents; 5) assess personal goals and career options; and 6) obtain practical information on the current job market.

• Joan Bradley, Program Coordinator for the Carleton School Board, has announced that a colleague, Laurie Walker, has just published a booklet dealing with careers in micro-computers, to inform secondary-school students.

• Rosemary Norris, Coordinator of Job Opportunities for Women within Employment and Immigration Canada in Newfoundland, has sought to increase the awareness of job consultants and women's groups. She has also approached the Continuing Education Department of Memorial University to promote courses in computer literacy for women.

• From Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Nettie-Mae Campbell has let us know that she has commenced a study on the impact of micro technology on adult education, with special emphasis on women.

• Bronwen Wood of the Secretarial Department of St. Lawrence College in Kingston, has participated in the creation of a course in word processing, offered since last fall. This one-year course is geared to a global training, which takes into account the information process as a whole. Bronwen has also organized workshops and seminars within the community, and will soon be assisted by her female students in that task.

• Motivated by her experience of the conference, Gail Mounteer of MWT Learning Associates, Ottawa, has designed one- and two-day courses to demystify micro technology for women. She is now frequently invited to speak and to offer her course in the National Capital Region.

5. Personal

The preceding pages give a good idea of the activities influenced by the conference held in June 1982, in Ottawa. Not found here, however, are personal comments, manifestations of friendships born between workshops, concepts suddenly grasped, fears which have finally vanished, new personal and professional challenges. Those who believe that sometimes little things make a large difference, can feel reassured. Through osmosis, through a multiplying factor, through some 600 people motivated by the success of their meeting, last June's conference will have had its impact on microtechnology.