In many of the programs, students became directly involved in the woman-positive activities. This gave women who worked as administrators or coordinators an opportunity to become involved with program participants in a - new and refreshing way.

I feel as if I've made friends with some women on a level that didn't exist before - and that is a very good feeling. Getting away from just assuming that you're doing a good job at helping people, assisting them, enabling them to become more powerful people. But not really knowing them, and not really knowing first-hand enough about the kinds of things they care about and feel. (Marion Wells, Saint John Learning Exchange)

In some programs, women students experienced very immediate and direct positive consequences because of the woman-positive activities in their programs. This was particularly true for women who participated in women-only groups. Simply through the process of pulling the groups together, some women felt they, had a stronger presence, a right to ask for support and information about things that related to their experience as women. Students' involvement in the woman- positive activities also had a direct effect on their programs. In one setting, the enthusiasm of the women involved in the CCLOW group constantly spilled over into the regular classroom.

That's one of the reasons that I like to do it at 10:00 in the morning. They just fire everybody - they keep everybody going for the rest of the day. And they certainly keep themselves going. (Diane Eastman, Brandon Friendship Centre)

In several programs, the two women involved in the research began to work together as a team either in the classroom or in group activities. They talked about their opportunity to learn from each other's teaching and working styles.

Working with somebody else for me has required slowing down because you have to talk things over and work things out. It's making a bigger space than if I was teaching it on my own. And I think that's been good as a teacher as well as a feminist, as well as on a personal level - just to kind of not spin your wheels but to take a different pace on things. (Paula Davies, College of New Caledonia)

Even women who did not team teach felt themselves working with new ideas, new techniques. Sometimes they believed this happened because they were working outside the usual structure of their program. At other times, it seemed to have more to do with the newness of their situation or the experimental nature of doing research.

And finally, being involved in a national project allowed many women to feel that their work was being validated not only for themselves, put also for their administration or board. It added credibility to some of the issues they wanted to raise concerning women's experience. Some women felt that their programs would be more open to research and staff development in the future because of their involvement in this project.