Roles Of Women In Canada

Imagine a nation where half of the populace is treated with the same respect as animals. A nation where the audacity of woman was suppressed in the face of political and socio-economical decisions. This very nation was Canada in the Laurier Era. As hard as it may be to believe this punitive truth, but the liberal values that Canada possesses now were most definitely not innate. Instead, they were built through a myriad of events with World War I definitely being the foremost of them all. World War I truly had a profound impact upon the history of women's right in Canada and aided in the creation of equality between the two genders. The ruthless and arduous toiling of women and their role in preserving Canada’s economic situation gave rise to

Since the 19th Century, women in Canada have fought political, legal, and social battles to find their place in Canadian society. From starting out in small, local organizations, to legal battles in the Supreme Court, Canadian women have come a long way. Unfortunately, it took a long time for many people to adapt to the changing roles of women, which made women still feel unequal compared to men. It is really striking to think that at one point society questioned if women could even be considered persons, just a small sample of the many changes women had to face through the course of history. This paper will analyze these changes experienced by Canadian women in that time period and how it affected their everyday lives.

The Famous Five decided to appeal to the decision made by the Supreme Court of Canada with the support of Prime Minister Mackenzie King. The Famous Five appealed to the Judicial Committee and Privy Council of England. In 1929, the British Privy Council declared women as “persons”. They stated that the constitution is a “living tree” and should change according to the time (Creating Canada, page 154). In conclusion, the victory of the Persons Case contributed to the importance of women and opened the door to many rights.

Every woman has the right to moral, legal and political choice. As we look to the past, women fought for the right to be treated the same as men and fundamentally to have the same rights as men. Prior to the turn of the century, women had little to no rights. World War I and II gave way to change, allowing women to work and eventually allowing them to vote. The feminist movement has made drastic progress since the war. Today women are seen as equal and have the right not only to vote, but to be educated. In 1977 the Canadian Human Rights Act ensured that women could no longer be discriminated based on their sex, race, religion or sexuality. The act specified that there must be “equal pay for

The classification of what a "person" was in the eyes of the government became a threshold test of women's equality. The Person’s Case has continued to empower women all across Canada for the past 88 years and has brought inspiration to Canadian citizens to fight for social economic equality for women. The impacts the Persons Case have had on Canada keep growing, a recent example of this is in 2015 Prime Minister Trudeau decided to form Canada's 1st gender-balanced cabinet. The cabinet ministers include 15 women and 15 men. Many of the female ministers have been key roles such as, formal journalist Chrystie Freeland has been put in charge of international trade. This decision reflects Canada’s

When married, all of a woman's money would automatically become their husbands. Women could not sign legal contracts. Women did not hold any social, political or economic power and they were prohibited from voting. Overall, compared to men, women had a lower quality of life due to all of the limitations they had. Women began to realize that they could do more than just domestic work, that they should be achieving just as much as men were. Women’s suffrage was the fight for women’s right to vote along with other basic rights. Many people were opposed to this such as male legislators and leaders of the Catholic Church. A group that fought for women’s rights in Canada was called the Famous Five. This activist group consisted of the five women; Nellie McClung, Emily Murphy, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Louise McKinney and Irene Parlby. Nellie McClung was a Canadian feminist, politician, author and social activist. She hosted a mock play with a reversal of roles, depicting a society in which women ruled and men were restricted in Manitoba which brought light to all the problems women were struggling with daily. The result of the play provoked conversation about the topic. As more people became informed on women’s suffrage, more people began to support it. Protests proved to be effective when women gained the right to vote in Manitoba, and became the first province to grant women the right to vote. However,

This group included Irene Parlby, Louis McKinney, Nellie McClung, Henrietta Muir Edwards, and Emily Murphy. They were five women that fought for their rights. They all had very powerful voices in Women’s rights. They stood up for what they believed in, and made a difference in Women’s rights. Their first case as a group was very successful.

On October 18, 1927, the Minister of Justice submitted a report to the Governor General of Canada regarding a petition submitted by Henrietta Muir Edwards, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, Emily Murphy and Irene Parlby. Together, these female Canadians were called the Famous 5. The Famous 5's petition requested the Governor General to make the Supreme Court of Canada consider whether women were eligible to become Senators under the British North America Act. The petition, written in letter form by Emily Murphy, asked the following question to the Supreme Court: “Does the ‘Person’ in section 24 of the British North American Act, 1867, include female persons?” Section 24 of the British North American Act, 1867, states that “The Governor General shall… summon qualified Persons to the Senate… every Person so summoned shall become and be a Member of the Senate and a Senator”. Emily Murphy also asked the Court, in the same letter, if there “Is power vested in the Governor-General of Canada, or the Parliament of Canada, or either of them, to appoint a female to the Senate of Canada?” Unfortunately, the Court responded that the term “Persons” was synonymous to only males. However, the Famous 5 appealed to the Privy Council of England, which in 1929 reversed the Court’s decision. The Persons Case opened the Senate to women, enabling Emily Murphy to be

Emily Murphy along with four other women, more commonly referred to as The Famous Five, presented their case in front of the Supreme Court of Canada, to get women declared as persons too. Unfortunately, they lost the case, but they still did not lose hope. They then presented their case in front of His Majesty’s Privy Council in London. Finally, on October 18th 1929, the verdict was announced and was in the favour of the Famous Five.2 This case was a huge victory for women living all around Canada, since it helped them be viewed in a different perspective. Women were now finally recognized as individuals. Winning the Person's Case is a huge step towards reaching a level of true equality and evidently this case could not have been won without the support, hard work and dedication provided by Emily Murphy.

Canadian workplaces today seem to be a fairly diverse place, with a blend of many religions, ethnicities, and genders present. However, although people preach affirmative action and melting pots in current times, many inequality and power issues still abound. One strikingly noticeable example is gender discrimination. Women in the workforce face many challenges like smaller wages, harassment, male privilege in hiring or promotions, and lack of support when pregnant or raising children. One half of the planet is women, and it can be assumed the same for Canada, but they still face judgment at work because they lack the authority to dispute against big corporations or even their male supervisor. It cannot be argued that

The Famous Five were petitioners in the Persons Case. It was a case that the Supreme Court of Canada in 1927 decided by the Judicial Council of Britain's Privy Council. They were Canada's highest court at the time. The five women had many years of work in different campaigns for women's rights going back to the 1880s and 90s. The media called them the Alberta Five after they got their victory.

Women’s Rights was and still is a major issue throughout the entire world, but more specifically, in the United States of America. Women have been treated unjustly for awhile. From being beaten by their husbands, to not being able to own property if they were married, women have been through it all. Many of these situations started to change because of a group of women that decided to stand up for what they believe in. A few activists that helped improve the rights of women are Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucretia Mott.

Women on this tour spent decades fighting for the rights that you enjoy today. Some sacrificed their whole lives so that you have the right vote, attend university, to become doctors, lawyers or a police officer” (The Women Who Built Canada, 2017). Feminism is the promotion of the equality of the sexes and Women’s rights do relate to human rights therefore, Feminism is very similar to gender equality. Feminism and Gender Equality correlate and laws have been enacted to respect the rights and freedom of Women and also to encourage

Throughout history, Canada’s identity has changed in many ways and there have been many historical events that have greatly shaped and impacted Canada’s history and identity. The Women’s Movement and women’s contribution in the past and throughout history has had the greatest impact on shaping Canada into what it is today. Among many identifying qualities like being multicultural, bilingual, and world leaders, Canada is also country that has changed immensely in the way of becoming a country that has learned to accept women, move towards providing them with equal opportunities and treating them equally. Through economic, social and political movements and actions, the contribution from women and the women’s movement have increased, changed and improved women’s rights and equality greatly. Women worked to create independence and equality economically through their contributions to war on the homefront in WWI resulting in greater workplace equality, socially through the actions of the Flappers in the 1920’s giving women currently, the confidence and strength that they need to speak up, and politically, through the work of the Suffragists including the Famous 5 to allow women to have the same political rights as men.

Women being able to vote was a huge step forward for Canadian women, but even though they could run for certain political positions, they could not be Senators. During the early twentieth century women were not legally considered “persons” and could not be Senators (Women become Persons). This act of exclusion portrayed Canada as an immature nation. A milestone with significant importance occurred in the Persons Case. The first constitution of Canada was the BNA Act (British North America Act). In this constitution it referred to a group of people as “persons” but when one individual was referenced they used the word ‘he”. The constitution restricted women from holding public office. (History Canadian resources book) The act declared that “women are persons in matters of pain and penalties, but are not persons in matters of rights and privileges.” Therefore, women could be given the same penalties as men for breaking a law, but could not receive the same basic benefits that men could. Unfair legalities like this proves that Canada was