Education and Computer use
For both women and men computer use at work increases with educational attainment; about 70% of those with a university degree reported using computers at work.

Computer use is high among educators, although women educators are less likely than their male counterparts to use computers at work. For example, 89% of male elementary and secondary teachers report computer use at work compared to 61 % of female teachers in this category. 46% of male teachers and 26% of female teachers have used computers in advanced areas (for example, using computers for data analysis).

When asked about online services at work, 41 % of male teachers as compared with 15% of female teachers reported using these services. It is likely that these figures reflect the distribution of teachers in the elementary and secondary school panels as well as the lower representation of women in school administration.

Household Access to Other Technologies
Data from the 1994 Household and Facilities Survey show 400,000 Canadian households with a fax machine and 75% of Canadian households with cable service. In 1993, Statistics Canada reported 3% of Canadian households had a satellite dish.

Some Questions About Access
There are some specific questions that can be addressed to decision makers in the community, in educational institutions, and at provincial and national levels about access to learning for women.

• What is good access to learning opportunities? How does that compare with what is available in the community?
  
  
• How well are proposed community access learning centers serving adult women learners, whether provided by local or provincial agencies or through SchoolNet or the Community Access Programs?
  
  
• Who has access to the Internet in my community? Are there age and gender statistics?
  
  
• What training is available for users at the local community learning or access centre? How accessible and friendly is it for women learners?
  
  
• How does access to learning now available in my community compare with what has been in place? Are technologies being used to replace on-site classes, or are they providing learning opportunities that weren't available before?
  
  
• What must be invested personally, in time and money, to obtain access to learning that meets a learner's needs? Does this type of learning require using new learning technologies? old learning technologies?
  
  
• What plans are in place to provide broadband telephone access to my community? What will it cost the user when it is in place?