Gender Inequality and the Status of Women within Canada
It was only after several years of working as an executive that I realized that I had been born with a natural aptitude for an executive role. Prior to this realization, I had perceived myself as someone who had ‘fluked’ into the job—it was my father’s business and he had passed away, the company needed a president and I was executor of the estate. Despite the fact that I was asked to stay on as Marketing Director by the two lawyers who bought the company, I still failed to recognize that they retained me because I showed an aptitude for the role. My inability to see myself as a ‘proper’ executive, along with the new owners’ relegation of my desk to the common area with the female administrative assistants (despite incompatible tasks and responsibilities) and paternally condescending behaviour, point to endemic gender issues that are so embedded in Canadian culture that they are scarcely noticed by many of those entrenched; notably, both myself and my bosses were unaware that we were all participating in the subjugation of women. In my role, I was utilized for my ‘masculine’ skills without the compensation or basic working environment a male in the same position would receive, even with similar work experience. All parties felt that I was getting a generous opportunity, and unfortunately, in our current social landscape in Canada, despite an obvious lack of justice, this may, in fact, be true. This essay will explore
For centuries, women have been seen as lesser than men: the stereotype that females are the “weaker sex” barred them from opportunities to be seen as equal to men. Many believed that a woman should be relegated to domestic roles; jobs that were seen as too “soft” and feminine for a man to do. Women in Canada were not exempt from this expectation that the only job they should have was in the home. While this viewpoint is antiquated and restrictive towards women, it held merit in that women were the ones who stayed at home for generations while the men went out to work. However, the 20th century ushered in a new era for working women. Over the last century, women have proven their integral role in the Canadian workforce. Canadian women have
It has been a long and hard journey in Canada to attain gender equality between men and women. Today, most people are unaware of the discrimination in workplaces, schools, and everyday life. Due to the Famous Five who lead the Persons Case that stated women as official persons, and many heroic individuals who lead the Women’s Suffrage Movement, women now have more opportunities than ever before. The Canadian Labour Movement has helped improve many citizens’ careers including those of women, protecting them from discrimination, violence, and harassment at work. Saskatchewan feminism has followed a similar path to Canada concerning women’s rights, most often categorized into three influential periods of time. The gender pay gap is the difference of money that men and women make, that is a crucial example of gender inequality. Gender stereotypes have limited the ability of men and women, judging them with false ideas through the media. All of these have played a major part of women’s rights and gender equality today.
The Federal government is responsible for insuring equal distribution and accessibility of health care services to citizens though they are not the only party that shape the policies of Canada’s healthcare but also the influence of doctors, health professionals, political parties, and businesses are also used (Canadian Stakeholders, n.d., para 2). The 1984 Canada Health Act outlines the requirements that provincial governments must meet. However; since there is not a descriptive list mentioning insurance services in the Act, the insured services in provinces vary creating a power shift (The Canada Health Act, 2005). Provinces also control the licensing of hospitals as well as doctors,
Women have had many difficult times throughout history. All the while they have come out strong, changing the way Canada treats women. They have fought to be equal in the eyes of politics, along with changing their social status and improving their equality within the work force. Women have made a huge impact on Canada and have shaped the country we know and love today.
The face of change for women throughout Canada; Lady Aberdeen the wife of Governor general, John Hamilton-Gordon, a equalise that believed men and women deserved equal rights as both were human, got encouraged by many life experiences that led Lady Aberdeen with an understanding that women and girls should deserve an education as it not only affected their life but also the people around them and the individuals they were married to. Her tribute towards Canada made many individuals change their way of thinking towards the act of women in a political stance.“These ladies,” Lady Aberdeen stated, “were ready to go forward if they could find a president who would be outside all party politics and creed rivalries, and who would yet be sympathetic with all the different sections of thought and work with which women of various races and creeds were connected throughout the Dominion.” Someone, they hoped, like Lady Aberdeen. “I found myself elected President of a newly-formed National Council of Women of Canada,” she said.
Although gender pay gap has shrunk, it still exist. In 1981 data showed that women earned ¢77 for every dollar that men made. Although the number is much different, as women made ¢87 every hour for each dollar men made per hour, there is still a ¢13 difference. In 2014 Canada was the 7th highest out of 34 countries with the gender wage gap in the OECD stats. In 2015 the Canadian labour congress did research which showed that senior women are more likely to live in poverty than men. Earning less over a lifetime you’re not as likely retire in security, and dignity. The law that I propose is based on gender pay inequality.Regardless of gender, an employe within the same field with level of education, and experience
It is visible that the violence and discrimination experienced by Aboriginal women and girls in Canada is a national tragedy, which has sadly received meager attention in our nation. Native Women’s Association of Canada (2013) explained how this has tragically led to the number of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls in Canada being excessively high. Systematic oppression and negligence from the Canadian Government to actively address this national tragedy were dominant themes that were illustrated by the absence of research and data available on this subject. Additionally, it was appalling to realize that no policies were established, but only politically charged strategies were recommended to confront this grave social problem.
The unjust treatment of children and women is an issue still largely visible in the world. Children and women play an integral role in the advancement of the economy, thus their mistreatment considerably affects economic growth. The most impoverished communities worldwide see issues such as astronomically high infant mortality rates, lack of education for youth, and a general disregard for their well-being, perpetuate. Evidently, mistreatment of women and children occurs in countries such as Afghanistan, but also in Canada, with the First Nations people being subject to egregious conditions for hundreds of years. One specific type of unjust treatment of women and children is the dearth of birthing assistance for pregnant women in impoverished
Women are mostly given lower status in work field and because of instances as maternity leave or doubt in responsibility, they do not have equal opportunities to achieve the same status or position as men in their respective fields. Most Canadians believe that Caucasian upper-class males have more superiority resulting in a higher pay than women who are equally qualified. In relation to Renegade Dreams by Lawrence Ralph, it exposes the reader to
On March 8th, 2016, International Women 's Day, Prime Minister Trudeau announced that Canadian Women will finally be appearing, for the first time, on Canadian currency starting in 2018. Although this is a great stride, it makes you wonder about how it took so long for there to be representation of important Canadian females on our money. This kind of gender inequality is something most of us do not think about, as too many people assume we have already have ended sexism and gender related discrimination, but the fact is, we have not.
Since the beginning of creation, differences have always existed for variety and beauty. Even nature is largely heterogeneous. It is designed so that each leaf, rock, animal, and blade of grass is unique. Perhaps the most contested dichotomy in nature is that between man and woman. In a utopia, each individual would contribute his or her unique gift for running the society in a collaborative and equitable way. In times of problems, each shared the load of the other, to facilitate in the smooth running of society. But ignorance created boundaries and divided humanity between regions, races, religions, beliefs, outer appearances, and gave birth to discriminate between things that appeared disparate to the physical and mental eye. From them stemmed
Through the Contemporary Women’s Issues in Canada course, various topics related to gender inequality were discussed. Due to a long history, of sexism and misogyny in many aspects of Canadian society, outdated behaviours and thoughts have prevailed in many aspects of society. Three main topics that are central to achieving gender equality are gendered violence, gender roles and socialization, and child care.
Canadian society is divided into groups labeled as the upper, middle, and working class. These class distinctions come from inequalities in wealth and that political parties tend to appeal to one class over others once elected. In Canada the wealth gap in the socio-economic classes comes from the tendency of the controlling party to focus on the class to which most of its members belong. Socio-economic class divisions in Canadian society can therefore be explained through a state-centered methodology because the government controls the focus of class issues. As different political parties come and go from government the policies change and some classes appear to receive priority. A couple parties appeal to the working and lower-middle class by distributing wealth through increased taxes and social safety net expenditure. Others focus on the opposite and their policies benefit the upper and upper-middle class via coercion from corporations and banks. The inability and smaller size of lower classes to stand up and influence government causes them to be overlooked. The fact that governments can operate this way demonstrates their individual power in Canadian politics. Socio-economic class cleavages in Canada can be best explained through a state-centered approach that the government tends to appeal to one group over another because of internal biases towards certain classes.
Gender inequality has been a long part of Canada’s history with men being the dominant decision makers. Women have had to fight long hard battles and overcome numerous obstacles to prove themselves and demonstrate that they are equal to men and not inferior. Over the course of a century women have achieved suffrage and have become increasingly visible in the political and economic sectors. Despite all the achievements women have made barriers remain in effect leaving women at a social, economic and political disadvantage even in the twenty-first century. The primary obstacles in achieving gender equality are the noticeable absence of women in authoritative economic and political positions, unfair social stereotypes that are still
Our society has the belief that women have always been portrayed as weak, emotional, and powerless. Throughout this article by Tavia Grant, it shows how women do not get the same opportunities men receive. Statistically shown, women are still earning less money than men regardless to the amount of education they possess (Grant). Women are accepted to hold obligations regarding family tasks while the men do the providing in the family. The article shows the disadvantages women have in Canada compared to men, however, it also shows gender inequality and gender discrimination.