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The Council's mandate is to advise government on issues of
concern to women, and to speak to the public on these concerns. We are
currently working on a 3-year plan which includes strategies for carrying out
our mandate. A major focus is to build our contacts with Members of Parliament
to maintain these communication links. Another is to establish regional
networks linking our Council Members with women's groups in their regions. The
regional Vice-Presidents will play a key role here. The link between the
Vice-Presidents and myself will be strong as well. This network will enable
information to flow in two directions: from the regions to the CACSW office and
out to the regions. This will enhance our ability to identify trends and engage
in needed and relevant research.
This brings me more directly to the CACSW/CCLOW connection. I
would like to tell you about the initiatives we have taken recently on the
training question. In our correspondence to government and in our public
statements, we have raised these issues:
- There should be a mandatory affirmative action aspect to any
federal training program such that minimum rates for women's participation are
set. Women should receive a proportion, of federal training funds (the $900
million) that is at least equivalent to their representation in the labour
force. Women were 42% of the labour force in 1984.
- There must be means established to ensure women's full
participation in federal programs.
- We argue that women should be represented on any local or
regional advisory groups on training, including representation from women's
groups and women employers.
- Women have particular needs with respect to training, needs
which must be addressed in order for them to have equal access to and enjoy
equal benefit of federal training programs. Some of these needs
are:
- Part-time training to accommodate women with part- time jobs
and/or family responsibilities.
- Access to training for women who are currently employed, and
who are either under- employed or working in dead-end jobs, or on jobs destined
for erosion through technological change. These women need training to upgrade
their skills, enabling them to get better jobs and to respond to the changing
demands of the labour market.
- Access to bridging, or job readiness training in addition to
training oriented directly to job skills and employment. Many women are not
job-ready, or do not have skills directly transferable to non-traditional types
of employment. Confidence building, and assertiveness-training, maths and
science upgrading, and pre-apprenticeship programs, for example, should form a
part of any training initiative.
- Training and childcare allowances must be adequate to allow
women to undertake training. Such allowances should also be available to women
undertaking training on a part-time basis.
- With respect to young people, the federal government should
set up programs encouraging young women to develop skills in mathematics,
science and technology. Any federal program targeted for the "youth" population
must ensure that funds and programs are allocated so as to benefit young men
and young women equally, taking the particular needs of young women into
account.
With regard to Employment Equity:
The main points
contained in Council recommendations are:
- that effective enforcement is essential, either through a
strengthened Human Rights Commission or an independent agency;
- that information that employers collect and report must be
standardized and encompass data showing the application of movement in a given
employer's workforce;
- that "special measures" are necessary (that is, retaining
the central notion of "affirmative action" when talking of "employment
equity").
We do indeed have much in common and complement each other in
our work - in both spellings of the word! We must be sure to share our
information and insight, and our publications and resources. A strategic phone
call, collaborative participation, and on- going exchanges contribute to your
effectiveness and ours.
It will be a pleasure to maintain this bond with you.
Sylvia Gold is President of the Canadian Advisory
Council on the Status of Women.
Sylvia Gold |