Skills Bank

INDIVIDUAL PROFILES

by Serna Aksoy

Renata Krakauer is one of the CCLOW veterans. She has been an avid supporter of the organization for many years. Renata, is presently employed at York-Eglinton Centre Number College of Applied Arts and Technology. She is also enrolled in a doctoral program in Adult Education at OISE.

Currently she is involved in three major areas of activity which may be of some interest to our readers. Primarily, Renata just has finished supervising a publication called The New Technology on Your Future in Office Work (1984). This book is a result of one of the sessions of the Women in the 80s Conference organized by the CCLOW. The issues and concerns which were generated by one of the sessions gave Renata the idea to prepare a handbook for women in office work and women considering going into office work.

She says this is not an entirely Gloom and doom book; it focuses on some available alternatives which are available for women whose skills be come obsolete and who are left unemployed as a result of technological inventions. Secondarily, Renata is arranging a Toronto based women's network. She is hopeful that through this network there will be a forum for local women to discuss local educational issues and share concerns. She points out emphatically that this network is to be enjoyed and not to be dreaded. Renata is adamant about dispensing with minutes and formalities. She would like to make it fun and something to look forward to. She believes in harnessing energies of women and not dampening them by overloading with obligation. Thirdly, she is involved in designing a workshop called Feminizing the Organization. This workshop will be

Presented at the CCLOW Annual Conference in August. Renata informed me that she will speak to the issue of re-injecting the female values into the corporation. In other words, she is interested in reclaiming the important female qualities instead of being apologetic about them in the development of organizations. Renata's skills range from being an outstanding idea person to excelling in developing, organizing and implementing new ideas. She also enjoys giving workshops. She says that a hand on experience is more powerful and effective than cut and dry lecturing. Her pet areas for workshops include paid education leave, guaranteed income, sexual harassment, women and men working together in organizations and democratic management.

If you want to know more about Renata and the Skills Bank please contact Sema Aksoy, Skills Bank Coordinator.