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Hi Wndi, Margaret: Thank you both for your input. Interesting enough from across the world in "icy -cold" Montreal, I can assure you that our experiences are so similar that it is scary. In the manual I'm co-writing, we are addressing most of these issues as well as the need for universal access. I decided to be concrete and spell out in check-list format (5 check-list so far) what they need to do a, b,c, This maybe kindergarten treatment, but honestly this is what seems to be needed, The fancy "equality and justice for all" commitments were nice but empty. By participating in community groups in the last 20 years, I've learned that if you make connection with them and their issue ex. If we are addressing poverty I ask questions e.g. "Do you know the number of women with disabilities that ... Do you know what that percentage is for men with disabilities, children and so on. Often this arises interest. Forcing the issues or just telling them that they are omitting us can be alienating. Each of us has its own struggle and that is seen as the most important that the others. Sometime I get asked to go back and give them workshops or participate in writing the report of course this is not always the case . In Quebec 5 years ago issues of disability were left out of the major shift in economic L'économie sociale . End result is that social groups, community groups, that are supposed to be filling in for cut back in government services are inaccessible. Even though I know this is Band-Aids work. I'm hoping to make a difference( a difficult thing to accept for any one who expected naively but sincerely that the social revolution would happen in their life-time. Maria Wendi Wicks wrote: > Hi Margaret, > I really resonated to your comments/questions about us (disabled women) > being kind of frilly add-ons to something women's groups do. I convene the > women's caucus for DPA (NZ)-The Assembly of People with Disabilities. Our > women often encounter the situation where: > 1. We find out about some event organised by a women's group about women's > issues, say poverty, and we/our perspective doesn't get a mention > 2. We address the omission directly with the organisers, and may get some > (often extra/special/add on) space on the programme > 3. We go to the event and in our slot, talk about how it affects us, and the > problems of exclusion > 4. We are told "Thank you very much for sharing this interesting perspective > I'm sure we've all got a lot out of it, now let's have morning tea" > 5. The same thing happens next time...and again, and again, and again > We're getting fairly irritated about this. We've been "educating" women's > groups on the need to include our perspective, and at the ground floor. > Apart from a small number of women in women's organisations who, bless their > little cotton socks, can make the linkages, most of the women's > organisations still marginalise us. > It seems to me that it might be useful for us to exchange some views and > strategies. If you fancy replying or responding to this idea, please do so. > Cheers, Wendi %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%