Progress is painfully slow. Because of the structural nature of the changes which are required, people working both inside and outside governments on initiatives in these areas find themselves facing the same barriers again and again. Positive movement in one area often seems to generate increased resistance in another. It is important to recognize however, that in a systemic sense, there is increasing acceptance of women's right to equality. The problem lies partly in a genuine confusion concerning how to make it all happen and partly in a reluctance on the part of government to take steps toward implementation which involve significant political risk. One result is that there is a reluctance to make specific statements with respect to policy. Beyond broad statements, we found very few policy statements which specifically address issues related to using education and training as a means of increasing the level of economic equality for women.

3.1.2 On Public Education

"During the 1982/83 fiscal year SEK 10 million (approximately $2 million Cdn.) were earmarked for a campaign called "More Women for Industry". The campaign had two objectives; to make girls and women realize that ; they were needed in industry and other technical occupations and to make it easier for them to train and opt for technical jobs. Nation-wide activities were directed at schools and workplaces ..."

(19)

One prerequisite for structural change is a change in values and attitudes. And yet policy statements which do exist tend to focus on the development of the skills of individual women, rather than on the prior 'community' need to educate for changes in public attitude and, in particular, on the need to rethink the whole world of work for both women and men, both paid and unpaid, in view of current realities. Our interviews revealed a strongly identified need for high profile, well- funded public education campaigns, and for continued efforts to improve the quality of information that girls receive during the primary and secondary school years. Although we have had no national public education campaign of this type in Canada, there is precedent for this sort of effort in other countries The quote above describes briefly the Swedish campaign.

3.1.3 The Next Economy

"As the 'information' or 'next' economy absorbs us, women are still struggling to achieve equality on the terms of the last economy. We haven't managed to do that, but the tools and strategies available to us are even more inappropriate to the next economy than they were for the industrial economy." (20)

Existing policies and programs are based on an economic and social reality which is fast disappearing. Despite some efforts, in programs such as Community Futures, and recently Skills Shortages, the Canadian Jobs Strategy constellation of programs (see Appendix 4) has a distinct bias toward training for existing job vacancies rather than future ones. Despite the good intentions behind the Re-Entry Program for women, the structural combination of a short length of training (typically 6-9 months) and evaluation criteria based on how many people immediately find work after the program, means that the majority of positions trained for are not only 'entry' level but also 'exit' level jobs -- those most vulnerable to disappearance or declining quality in the coming years.


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