1.1 On Voice

(interviewee)

It is clear for instance, that CCLOW has been most influential in those situations in which it has taken a clear and focused position on a particular issue and then has supported that position with high quality independent research. It is not only feminists within government but also other national women's organizations which rely on CCLOW to provide just this kind of leadership. Although some regionally-based groups, such as WETC (Women's Education & Training Coalition) in British Columbia and ACTEW (Association for Community-based Training & Employment for Women) in Ontario are doing some excellent advocacy work in the policy area, our survey of policy positions taken by other organizations regarding women's education and training revealed that they had surprisingly little to say (7). Our interviews confirmed that other organizations look to CCLOW to take the initiative and to provide guidance with respect to identifying which issues are most in need of current attention; what position ought to be taken on those issues; and to whom lobbying efforts ought to be addressed.

This latter element - - "to whom" - - requires additional comment. Although the federal government role with respect to education and training for women is still a strong one, it is changing. Privatization and federal-provincial agreements mean that the federal role is becoming increasingly 'hands-off'. If organizations like CCLOW wish to continue to speak with a clear and well-heard voice they will need to develop some new strategies for influencing policy at the regional level and within the private sector.

1.2 On Vision

(interviewee)

Another factor of relevance to this study has to do with the importance of clear vision. The visioning process conceiving a desirable future is never an easy one. Within institutions there are strong additional disincentives to such long-term and conceptual efforts, not the least of which is the potential of being 'written off' by one's co-workers. Within governments, political time lines and a strong preference for incremental decision-making leave little time for thinking about a future which may never come. Yet vision is a highly practical tool and an essential element of the policy-making process. It provides an organizational framework for priority-setting and for action, an antidote for ad-hoc and crisis-response decision-making and the fragmentation of effort that follows, and a source of ongoing motivation and inspiration. A sense of shared vision engenders a feeling of solidarity and mutual commitment that is an invaluable aid to networking across long spaces of time and distance.

To look beyond immediate tasks to a desired future requires a certain amount of courage. To go on to attempt to define clearly the essential elements of that future on anything more than an individual basis requires not only courage but also audacity. However, if CCLOW wishes to make maximum use of its limited resources in the interests of the women it represents, the organization must see clearly. It cannot be expected that this clear vision will come from anywhere but within CCLOW itself, from the women who are its members.

1.3 On Integrity

(interviewee)

CCLOW and organizations like it are most successful at influencing policy when they adopt positions which are already familiar to the public, close to conventional values and therefore relatively uncontroversial and narrow in scope (8). What this frequently means in practice is a long period of public education, some preliminary advocacy work which may range over a number of related issues, and then a focused and specific effort -- what one interviewee called "the laser beam approach". Yet the single most frequently mentioned problem during our interviews was the need for comprehensive and integrated action on issues related to equality. It is very important to create an approach which allows for focused effort on specific issues within a much broader and integrated context, in order to prevent fragmentation of effort and/or co-optation by external interests. What is necessary is a comprehensive and integrated analytical framework in which individual issues can be seen in relationship with one another and reverberating impacts and requirements for change can be assessed and identified.

In this study we have endeavored to make a contribution to each of the areas discussed above. Our emphasis in gathering written information has been on providing the background for a strong voice accurate, current information gathered from regional and private sector sources as well as the federal government. In the interviews, it has been on the development of vision on identifying what the path to an ideal future might look like and what the role of education and training can be in assisting us to find that path. In analysis of the data we have tried to focus on integrity on placing identified concerns and issues within a broader framework. In each area however, we are able to make only a small contribution to a process which has been and will be ongoing throughout CCLOW's history.