The Home Computer: The World at Your Fingertips

Workshop Leader:
P. Anne Wilson, Director of Sales,
CATV Products, NABU Manufacturing
Corporation

Micro-computers are the rage, and one of the most explosive new businesses of the 1980s. It is predicted that they will secure at least a 50 per cent growth rate throughout the decade, and that sales world-wide will reach 5 million units by 1985. The boom is testimony to the declining price, matched by corresponding increases in performance, which have resulted in a growing, general awareness of the capabilities of microcomputers.

Today, they are more than the glorified electric toys of hobbyists and hackers. Micro-computers are making inroads into the appliance field, becoming indispensable, multi-purpose tools. They are beginning to fill their designers' promises to create new options for the way we work, shop, travel and communicate. (A demonstration of the uses of the home computer was included.)

Sunday Morning Plenary

Introduction

Strategy Coordination

Team Leader:
Jacqueline Pelletier, Consultant,
program and strategy development, Ottawa

“ The strategy coordination team met last night to prepare this morning's session. As we discussed the workshop reports, it became obvious that, despite the specific focus of this conference, all of the usual feminist concerns were being raised by participants. Day care, abortion, unemployment... it has been literally impossible to discuss the impact of microtechnology on women without encompassing all of these concerns.

This probably does not come as a surprise. Our experience indicates that indeed, women tend to take a holistic approach to situations. In that sense, this conference is typical of the feminist model: avoid isolating the facts; get a total picture. We all know that this approach is slow in terms of results, but it may be far more radical than the traditional male tendency to isolate a subject, deal with it quickly, and neglect the consequences.

Last night, we developed a design which, we think, corresponds to the dynamics of this conference. We hope it will help you get a better understanding of the process, and that it will contribute to your appreciation of the feminist approach to problem solving (see graphic on page 104).

At the core of the flower, we find society as it is now. Outside and all around the flower is the developing society, towards which we are constantly and urgently pulled by rapid technological change. Each petal represents one of the specific areas of concern to women: health, education, contraception, peace, employment, etc. All of the concerns overlap, as do the petals. One cannot resolve day care problems without also addressing the "equal pay for work of equal value" issue, for example. Microtechnology overlaps all other feminist concerns: it affects every aspect of our lives, and as we progress towards the future, the overlap will increase.

This complex picture of reality has dominated our debates throughout this conference. At times, it created confusion and frustration. It would be nice to isolate one problem and deal with it, but we know that to be impossible. And so, we try to combine generic and specific approaches, and, in our own feminist way, gradually, we move towards action plans and solutions. ”