It is a welcomes change from the gloom and doom scenarios which I suspect may have the effect of scaring some women away from the new technology. This is not to deny the justice of the fears or the probability that many of the dire predictions will come true. The manual documents them all.

But the new technology per se (like the steam engine) is neither benign nor malignant. The real issue, as the manual points out, is who is going to master and benefit from the new technology? The case has only just opened. Women still have time to fight for a non-sexist application of micro technology.

Like Darlene and Pat, two of the case studies, we must master the tools of the trade in order to make the new technology a woman's friend.

You may not agree with the book's point of view on this issue, but the thought-provoking "questions for Discussion" peppered throughout the book will certainly push you to take a stand. The author goes to great lengths to help her readers make up their own minds. The 'pros and cons are conscientiously portrayed; in fact, the book closes with a recounting of the dangers and benefits of the new technology, leaving the reader to draw her own conclusions.

Questions like the following are bound to lead to lively group discussions: " If you could re-design your job and working conditions, what would you do? Should work continue to be the basic method for distributing incomes? Has your skill as a worker increased over the last few years?"

The scope of issues covered in the manual is another plus. The author tackles everything from the mechanics of office automation to the need for equal pay, day care, and union protection for office workers. Health, careers and jobs, training and retraining, gaining computer literacy, and issues for society, are likewise addressed in considerable depth.

To round off an already hefty package, a glossary, list of resources, and a bibliography are included. You can pick and choose from the menu, depending on your needs. But it is more than a listing of information and services. Theory is combined with "survival tips" and those controversial discussion questions keep you in a critical frame of mind throughout the 206 pages, the language is direct, the information down to earth, and the case studies relevant, making the manual accessible to all women.

The pros and cons of office automation, however, are dealt with in a somewhat disjointed manner. The first few chapters tend to be quite negative while the latter are much more positive, the issues in office automation in Chapter 3 include: job loss, productivity, troubles of transition, change of jobs, speed-up, monitoring, and deskilling. You may finish the chapter in a depressed state of mind, depending on your occupation. Chapter 5, however, picks you up with its focus on high technology as a source of jobs, strategies for career evolution, and an inspiring set of case studies. A more balanced integration would have been desirable.

De skilling of jobs is put forward as a probable though not necessary companion of technological change. One observation I would make here is that de skilling, when it occurs, is a contradictory phenomenon. On the one hand, it may well demean work performed by the traditional secretary and result in further alienation and job loss. On the other hand, it may open the door to women who lack a high school education and office work experience, women who need an immediate pay cheque and can't afford years of academic upgrading and technical training.

As the author points out, "the new technology is double-edged: it cuts some of you in and some of you out". Your stand on the new technology will be shaped largely by its impact on your life. (My approach is no doubt influenced by the fact I direct microcomputer training programs for disadvantaged women!)

One final note - a strong feminist current runs throughout the book. Working women's issues are not left to the end. Affirmative action, equal pay, unions and the struggle for equality, poverty, and day care are dealt with at the start and resurface periodically as central issues to be resolved for working women.

The: manual is a true consciousness raiser.

Terry Dance is the Director of Adult Education at Dixon Hall, a community centre in Regent Park, Toronto. She administers full-time and part-time training programs in microcomputer skills for disadvantaged adults (STEP & the Computers in the Community program) and is a founding member of Immigrant Women into Electronics.