York U.'s International Women's Rights Project Releases How to Guide -- The Busy Women's Guide to the Internet -- to Help Women Get On-line, Overcome Gender Barriers to Technology, Use Internet for Activism, Research

TORONTO, November 16, 1999 -- The Internet offers access to critical information for female researchers and activists, and is a relatively inexpensive and rapid alternative to the mail, long-distance telephone calls, faxes, couriers, and travel. These costs have often been barriers to women activists, researchers and professionals in women's non-governmental organizations (NGOs), for whom access to information and the ability to network with their peers is vital.

To help more women cut through computer jargon and reap the benefits of computer technology and the Internet tools for communication and the exchange of ideas, York University's International Women's Rights Project in coordination with York's Centre for Feminist Research is releasing a new how to guide -- The Busy Woman's Guide to the Internet: Activism and Research On-line -- Wed., Nov. 17, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Electric Bean CyberCafe, 10 Eglinton Avenue East. The event includes free Internet demonstrations and on-line instruction.

Topics covered in The Busy Woman's Guide to the Internet include:

The History of the Internet in 1000 Words (origins, why women need the Internet)

Getting On-Line: The First Steps (What is an ISP? email, how to protect your computer from viruses)

Questions to ask your ISP (What technical support is available with my account package?)

Getting Acquainted with On-Line Resources (making search engines work for you)

Becoming Part of the Internet Community (listservs, newsgroups, conferencing)

The guide also includes extensive appendices including: a Glossary of Internet Terms, (eg. What is an Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line?); and a Women's Human Rights On-line Site Directory.

"The Busy Woman's Guide to the Internet was born out of the problems and frustrations with technology experienced by the women involved in women's non-governmental organizations including how to get on-line and stay on-line," said the book's author Kelly Mannix, an associate of the International Women's Rights Project at York University. "Despite some of the difficulties and frustrations that may occur when becoming acquainted with the Internet, from occasional computer crashes to technical support issues, this technology holds vast potential for enhancing and advancing the collective struggle for women's human rights and activism -- confirming the demand for this guide to be geared to women's needs."

Said Dr. Marilou McPhedran, the book's publisher and Director of The International Women's Rights Project at York University: "The global Internet society is inherently elitist in nature, with gender, income, education and geography as the fault lines. Many women face innumerable obstacles accessing computer resources and getting onto the information highway -- from feeling overwhelmed by computer technology and male-oriented technospeak, to a lack of gender-sensitive technical support and training, to prohibitive start-up costs, to time constraints such as working and raising a family. On-line activism and research would be better grounded in women's reality if we took advantage of the technology and shared our skills. This guide is intended to make Internet access less elitist."

The 80-page booklet, which was distributed in the briefing kits at the Ninth Conference of Spouses of Heads of States in the Americas held in Ottawa in October, has been translated into French, Spanish and Portuguese.

The International Women's Rights Project (IWRP) is focused on facilitating a stronger implementation of international human rights standards to the benefit of women through research and activism. This project was launched by York University in 1998 with the guidance of the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), UNIFEM and other members of an International Advisory Committee.

As part of the IWRP's mandate, the project will conduct a study among ten countries that provides a detailed comparative analysis of the impact of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) on national systems, including Internet technology.

WHO:
Author Kelly Mannix, associate of the International Women's Rights Project at York University, and Project Director Dr. Marilou McPhedran

WHAT:
Book Launch: The Busy Women's Guide to the Internet: Activism and Research On-Line (includes Internet demonstrations and instruction)

WHEN:
Wed., Nov. 17, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

WHERE:
Electric Bean CyberCafe, 10 Eglinton Avenue East, (Yonge/Eglinton, Northeast corner)

-30-

For more information, visit http://www.web.net/WomensHRights or contact:

Dr. Marilou McPhedran
Director, International Women's Rights Project
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 40202 / (416) 967-9485
marilou@yorku.ca

Kelly Mannix
International Women's Rights Project
York University
(416) 980-7962
kelly_mannix@hotmail.com

Ken Turriff
Media Relations Officer
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22086
kturriff@yorku.ca
YU/124/99