JAN: Many of you who have come here this week are women.... and many of the people most needing access and opportunities for success through alternative learning systems are women. Every statistic we see from every nation shows us this. (United Nations--Phoenix University, the Department of Education, those enrolled in University of Nebraska masters degree in human sciences--indigenous women in developing country villages, single mothers, two-wage earner families, welfare to work.) I am unhappy to report that after 30 years of lots of the talk about improving things for women - we have much further to go. There is still a glass ceiling, especially in board rooms...and in governments at policy levels.....and there is still a very sticky floor. Women in lower paying jobs are now just getting lower pay for more complex work. Globally low paying jobs move from one country to the next. Is it any better that women in Singapore go blind making micro-chips rather than embroidered garments. At least the garment had a touch of her own creating. At the Knowledge 97 conference Shirley Malcolm, Director for Education and Human Resources ...American Association for Advancement of Science and an Ecologist said: