British Columbia

This spring, CCLOW memberships have continued to grow, and B.C. Director, Sheila McFadzean, has been working to expand CCLOW's links with other B.C. organizations.

In mid-February, Sheila attended the first of CAAE's regional conferences "Rethinking Politics, Recreating Community" along with several other CCLOW members.

In mid-May, Sheila traveled to Victoria to meet with CCLOW members and with women active in other Victoria based organizations. The meeting with CCLOW members, originally planned for March, included a sharing of news about CCLOW national activities and activities of Victoria CCLOW members, together with a discussion of directions for provincial CCLOW activity in B.C. The meeting with women from other organizations involved a round table concerning their respective activities, and a discussion of CCLOW's mandate and interest in working collaboratively.

Several CCLOW members participated in the May conference "Where is Our Future? Women and College Education in B.C." sponsored by the Status of Women Committee, College Institute Educator's Association (CIEA) of B.C. which attracted more than 100 B.C. women. Janet Patterson presented a workshop on "Achieving Gender Equality: Research for Action" based on her work at Kwantlen College over a three-year period. Susan Witter presented a session on "Educationally Disadvantaged Women." CCLOW was present at both the CIEA conference, and the annual meeting of the Pacific Assoc. for Continuing Education (PACE) which was held the following week. Susan Witter was elected Vice-President of the PACE Board - congratulations, Susan!

During April and May, Sheila McFadzean has been working with several CCLOW members to arrange a meeting with Minister of Employment & Immigration, Flora MacDonald, during Ms. MacDonald's mid-June visit to Vancouver. We are working with more than a dozen organizations (based in the Lower Mainland) to ensure that critical issues, regarding women's current training and employment prospects in B.C., are raised with the Minister during the the June meeting.

Joining CCLOW in this process, are such organizations as: CIEA, PACE, CRIAW-BC, the Kwantlen Advisory Committee on Women's Education, Society for Cdn. Women in Science & Technology (SCWIST), Women in Trades Assoc., Women's Access Assoc., Women Skills, YWCA of Greater Vancouver, and Surrey-Delta Immigrant Services. It's proving to be an exciting collaboration for us all!

BC CCLOW members continue to work actively in a variety of areas to strengthen women's training and employment opportunities Brishkai Lund, at the University of Victoria's Extension Division, has been working with Women for Economic Survival, a coalition of several Victoria women's organizations. Their recently produced handbook, "Women and Economic Hard Times," is designed to assist women in BC island communities "who are experiencing hard times share their concerns and some of the coping mechanisms they have developed." The handbook examines problem areas in jobs, health, welfare, personal relationships, etc. It offers both personal and collective coping strategies. The handbook is available for $2.00 from: Women's Programs, Division of University Extension, University of Victoria, P.o. Box 1700, Victoria, B.C., V8W 2Y2; (604) 721-8463.

The Women's Skill Development Society (Women Skills) recently received a total of $96,000 from Labor Canada and Supply & Services Canada for its project
"Microtechnology: Implications for Women's Employment." Project staffs, Marcy Cohen and Margi White, are well into the workplace research, interviewing women in a variety of BC workplaces about their experiences with microtechnology. The research will be completed this summer, and the findings integrated into educational materials which will be available early in 1986.

These materials will aim to assist women's understanding of the implications of
microtechnology for their future employment and training, and enhance their ability to take personal and collective action. The materials will be pilot-tested in workshops with women throughout BC during the spring of 1986. Women Skills has undertaken several other projects: development of a resource centre accessible to the community concerning women's training and employment issues, distribution and evaluation of the newly reprinted "Tools for Change" curriculum, and coordination of a project on community-based economic development for/by women. For more information, contact: Women Skills, #9 - 4443, Irmin St., Burnaby, B.C., V5J 1X8; (604) 430- 0450.