A two-day women's conference got underway yesterday at the Radcliffe Institute as 350 women and a handful of men discussed research indications and policy directions for women today.

The Institute is sponsoring the conference with the aid of funding from private individuals, foundations and the Xerox company.

Conference moderator, Elizabeth Cless, stressed in her opening remarks that "the conference is in no sense a call for political action."

"This is a scholarly conference and we hope to provide each woman with resources to use on the path she has chosen for herself," she said.

The opening panel dealt with trends and problems in the social system and how women should respond to them.

Susan Keller, professor of Sociology at Princeton, led off the panel with a prediction that technology will eventually eliminate all boring jobs and that there will be a new emphasis on mental as opposed to manual work. Keller also foresaw a day when work as we know it would no longer be necessary to ensure sustenance for society.

Everett I. Mendelsohn, professor of History of Science, said that science has outlived its usefulness to society because of its history of separating knowledge and technique from the actual user.

Mendelsohn cited the example of abortion, where a few specialists with knowledge of the technique were able to keep abortion from being practiced.

Other conference meetings dealt with biological and psychological bases of sex roles, work and the family, and work and society.