Nova Scotia

The roles assigned to women as individuals and as members of groups has been a theme examined during the monthly Fall meetings of CCLOW in Nova Scotia. In October, Patricia Morris, CCLOW member and employee at Dalhousie University, Part-Time Studies and Extension, presented a talk, "A Sense of Self." She asked us to examine the question: "What makes a healthy self, and what are the assumptions that form the basis of a whole person?" Patricia contrasted two models of behavior - Code A where care of the self is of primary importance, and Code B which emphasizes the care of others. For women, there is tension between these two codes. To emulate Code A is to reject traditional values and behaviors which women have been socialized to believe is the way a "good" person behaves, while practicing Code B behavior results in limitations in the ways women can participate in society.

In November, Claudine Lowry, another member of CCLOW and faculty member at Mount Saint Vincent University, continued to look at women's roles by discussing, "Equality for Women in Organizations." As a result of widespread systemic discrimination and women continuing to select traditional career paths, few women are well placed on the career ladder, let alone in positions of power. Because women have little control over their work lives, they scale down their ambitions to fit their perception of what is the reality of their job possibilities. After describing Rosabeth Cantor's three models of organizational processes in order to explain women's participation in work organizations, Claudine concluded by suggesting that women need to network more across occupations and to work outside their employer's organization when dealing with women's issues.

A Christmas social after work was an opportunity for members who cannot attend noon-hour meetings to share news, and great wine & cheese, with other members at the home of Kaireen Vaison.

The new year got off to an exciting start with a visit from Carol Ariano, the Saskatchewan Director of CCLOW. In conjunction with Carol's visit, we hosted an Atlantic Regional Director's meeting to welcome Barbara Cull-Wilby as the new Director for New Brunswick, and to exchange news and plan strategy for the Symposium on Women's Training Needs. This Symposium was an invitational meeting with the joint Federal/ Provincial Labor Market Needs Committee to present to them the Bridging Programs for Women developed by Saskatchewan CCLOW. Carol Ariano's description of this approach was extremely well received by the Committee, who expressed concern with the low participation rates of women in federally funded training. One result of this meeting is that CCLOW has been asked to playa coordinating role in advising both the Labor Market Needs Committee and its sub-committees on the training needs of women.

During her visit, Carol also described the Bridging Program to a well-attended CCLOW meeting with members coming from various locations across the province, as well as making a presentation to people working in adult education in the Halifax Metro area.