3. We learned the value of having good contacts within agencies and institutions. These contact people were invariably women, who believe learning should be available to all women, but who are not yet in positions of power from which they can effect changes in the system. Such contact persons must be found in all regions, within all major institutions involved with women as learners. We also learned that:

• these contact persons are often attempting to effect changes from the inside. They are hampered in this activity by a lack of specific information about how their agency's practices affect individual learners. They need this information from us. In fact, they need our input and information as much as we need theirs.

• these contact persons need continuing support for themselves. Many of them act as "token" women in lonely positions within their agency.

• the ways in which we can be of assistance to them varies for each person, each agency and each region. We need to ask each of them how we can be the most useful; and we need to be very specific about how they can help us.

4. We learned that change, small to be sure but change none-the-less, occurs most frequently when several community groups mount advocacy campaigns about the same issue and at the same time. This works better if each group develops its own campaign, from its own perspective, rather than developing an amalgamated campaign through one large group.

In addition, we need to begin to find women who are willing to sit on policy making boards, to run for elected office, serve on monitoring committees, and so on. By combining pressures for change from inside staff persons, outside community groups, and members of influential committees, we will have the best chance to effect changes within the system.

5. There are lies, damned lies and statistics; just as there are policies, guidelines, and practices. The consistency within anyone set is totally within the eye of the beholder. We need to be able to comprehend both sets. This requires a sort of literacy which involves being able to read and understand policy and statistics. Women are sadly lacking in both skills. If we are to deal effectively with governments and agencies, we must begin to acquire these skills since statistics are often used to support and justify policies and policies determine how information will be gathered and statistics interpreted.

For example, the Women's Employment Branch states in its Plan of Action (see Appendix A, Unit III), that the Commission will support and encourage women in, their search for economically viable and self-fulfilling employment. Statistics show that the numbers of women being served by the various activities of the Commission, such as employment referral, training activities and unemployment benefits, is proportional to the number of women in the labour force( i.e. 38% of the labour force were women in 1977; and in the same year 35% of manpower trainees were women, 36% of regular job placements went to women; and 39% of unemployment benefits went to women). Who can argue with statistics like that. Therefore, the Commission has fulfilled its policy and the policy works. Breaking through such logic will require considerable skill. The problem, of course, is that the information in each of these categories is gathered so as to not show the places where policy is not working.