What the video does not do well is balance between the issues of gender inequity and those related to race, class, ability or other factors such as homophobia and religious intolerance. Despite the fact that these issues often intersect, the subtle and distinct differences between them should be brought to the fore. For example, in order to address issues related to racial discrimination effectively with this material, much greater use must be made of the resource guide and it: fact sheets than when addressing issues of gender.

Produced by the Office on the Status of Women at Concordia University, it is clear that the video's primary focus is on women's inequity. In its introduction, the manual clearly states that the intent of the project is to sensitize educators on the issue of discrimination in the classroom so that "women" may benefit from an equitable education. This should be kept in mind, otherwise issues related to race may appear incidental where they should have an equal emphasis.

The video also fails to sufficiently emphasize the importance of curriculum and language relative to the issue of equity in the classroom. Again, it is only with the use of the manual that one can effectively cover this topic in a workshop session.

What the package does have is a manual which includes an excellent workshop guide easily adaptable to specific circumstances. The guide itself is less centred on women's inequities than the introduction would indicate, and gives excellent exercises to help instructors think about strategies to improve classroom interaction to benefit everyone. The workshop guide is complemented by fact sheets outlining elements of discriminatory classroom interaction (in the areas of sexism, racism, heterosexism and others), as demonstrated by the use of stereotypes, non-verbal behaviour, exclusive language and curriculum. The attached bibliographies are also extremely useful.

"Inequity in the Classroom" is one of the best ways to begin a dialogue on this issue in an interactive and positive way. By bringing home the message clearly and giving concrete strategies, the lesson cannot be ignored. When used together, the video and manual are an excellent way to begin a discussion that is long overdue on all Canadian campuses.

Irène Bujara is Director of the Human Rights Office for Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. From 1989 to 1992 she was the coordinator of the Human Rights Summer College hosted by the Human Rights Centre at the University of Ottawa.

Challenging Times. The women's movement in Canada and the United States Constance Backhouse and David H. Flaherty, editors.McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal & and Kingston, 1992

Review by Lisa Schmidt

Whether chanting together at rallies or publishing their work between the covers of the same book, groups of women have a long history of coming together to speak their minds. The fact that dozens of feminist anthologies have rolled off Canadian presses in the last twenty years--with new collections of women's writing materializing on a regular basis--clearly affirms that we are living in anything but a post-feminist era.

At best, an anthology about the "women's movement" has the potential to speak to a wide variety of readers with diverse backgrounds and life-styles. Yet in a world where issues of class, race and gender intersect, assembling writing in a feminist book can also be problematic. Unfortunately, Challenging Times embodies these problems all too well.