This paper is based on a 1991 research study that examined non-English speaking background (NESB) women in Victoria, Australia. The women had past or current experience of paid work or were intending to participate in paid work, and they were taking or intending to take literacy and basic education courses. Some of the relationships between the two groups of factors are explored. It is noted that if Australia's workers are to take advantage of the education and training opportunities offered by government-endorsed restructuring in support of a national multicultural policy, then factors such as literacy level, competence in English, and gender are important considerations. The general conclusion of this study is that NESB women tend to be "losers" in the drive for literacy, but that there is ample potential for transforming them into "winners." Serious issues raised by the study include the following: (1) the philosophy underlying "multicultural" Australia, and particularly the national languages policy, may be only a political slogan if NESB women's literacy and general education needs are not given priority; (2) literacy and skills training problems cannot be solved without taking into account the complexity of language and literacy, the clientele to be accommodated, and the position and status of women in Australian society; and (3) assumptions about NESB women as primarily "victims" are severely limited and may transform NESB women from winners to losers while paradoxically enabling others to move from being losers to winners. (LB) Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse on Literacy Education