Equal Opportunity Seminar told to "Lean on Managers" Representatives of 33 com- panies came together recently at the Chelsea Inn in Toronto to share strategies towards the better utilization of their female employees. The day long seminar entitled Managerial Approaches to Affirmative Act- ion was sponsored jointly by the Women's Bureau of the Ministry of Labour and by Bell Canada, ManuLife, Shell Canada Limited, Towers Department Stores and Warner-Lambert Canada _ Limit- ed. Since International Women's Year, the Bureau has offered a consulting service to employers to encourage the establishment of affirmative action programs. So far more than 140 companies in the private sector have been contacted. "What we found was. that increasingly our clients wanted to Know what other companies were doing in the equal opportunity field, how they coped with problems that came up." says Murray LeMasurier, the seminar's main organizer and an_-- affirmative action consultant with the Women's Bureau. That was the impetus behind the seminar on June 8th, which was kicked off with a speech by Jim Bennett, a principal in the Toronto office of the international consulting firm of McKinsey and Company and co-author of the book Women in Business: A shocking waste of human resources. Mr. Bennett, who had been retained as a consultant by the CBC, several government min- istries and a major bank, said that in every corporation he has looked at, jobs are segregated by sex. "One can say that no corporation should be referred to as 'it' but rather as 'him"', he observed. Many _ staffing decisions are made on the basis of what are believed to be women's group characteristics such as being emotional, not committed to the job, not being mobile, or being more likely to leave because of family respon- sibilities. He pointed out that men have group characteristics too (more heart attacks, more alcoholism, greater tendency to break the law) but that these are 'not considered sound criteria in hiring. "When it comes down to it, men just prefer working with other men." His advice to people working in the equal opportunity field was to make sure that there is a common recognition of the problem. He has found that usually men think that women are happy with the status quo within the organization. Guide- lines specifically spelling out things like interviewing tech- niques or the setting of salaries can be-very helpful. "Lean on line managers," he urged. Other suggestions from Mr. Bennett included establishing special courses for high potent- ial women, improving access to training and creating opportunit- ies on the job. He advised raising female aspirations but making sure opportunities are real so that people's hopes are not dashed. Participants broke groups following his talk to select and debate issues specific to their companies. Acting as workshop facilitat- ors were Judith Davidson-Palm- er, women's advisor to the ministry of housing, Marg Briere of Bell Canada, Dale Schneider of ManuLife, Lynne Dell of Shell Canada and John Oelrichs of Warner-Lambert. Some of the problems discussed in the workshops were how to retain momentum in affirmative action programs, how to recruit and retain more qualified women, how to obtain and maintain the commitment of senior manage- ment to the program and how to find more opportunities for women when an organization is shrinking. When asked to evaluate the day's events, most participants said thay found the discussions helpful and especially appreciat- ed the contacts they were able to make. Les Bailey, an _ assistant vice-president with Bell Canada, chaired the seminar and Tim Armstrong, the deputy minister of labour, made the closing remarks. into five (From the Women's Bureau News Letter) Friday, August 5, 1977 Page 7 Michael Graham sits behind the wheel of his Father's most recent aquisition -- A 1957 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud 1, brought over from Great Britain by container in April. -- Photo by M. Rowsell. Freezing Vegetables Fruits and vegetables to be frozen should be as fresh as possible. Heavily waxed containers are recommended for packing. With both fruits and vegetables, leave 34-inch "head space" in each container to allow for expansion VEGETABLE ASPARAGUS BEANS, GREEN SHELL BEANS, LIMA BROCCOLI CAULIFLOWER CORN ON THE COB PEAS HOW TO PREPARE AND PACK Cut in 6-inch lengths. Blanch 32 minutes. Chill, drain and pack. Shell. Blanch 1% minutes. Chill, drain and pack. Shell. Blanch for 1% minutes. Chill, drain and pack. Cut in pieces no thicker than 1 inch. Blanch for 4 minutes. Chill, drain and pack. Cut in pieces no thicker than 1 inch. Blanch for 3 minutes. Chill drain and pack. Husk. Blanch for 8% minutes. Chill, drain and pack. Shell. Blanch for 1 minute. Chill, drain and pack. Helo your Heart... Helo your Heart Fund METCALFE PHARMACY LTD. Metcalfe, Ontario 821-1224 presents a and Dance [kussell kecreation Association & Russell Lion's Club Giant Beet Bar-B-Que lussell Recreation Centre sat., Sept. 10 S5OO per person Bar-B-Que from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. Dance to "The Tradewinds" (from the NAC Beer Garden) 9to1a.m. 'GET YOUR TICKETS EARLY'"' Is open for Prescription Services We fill Ontario Drug Benefit Plan and all other Drug Plans Prescriptions. REGULAR HOURS Monday through Wednesday: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday: 10 a.m. to8 p.m. Saturday: 10 a.m. to5p.m. GEM FENCING Residential Chainlink ® Galvanized & Viny| Supply ® Installation ® Repair FREE ESTIMATE Tel.: 445-5739 G. E. 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