Why Canada Should Increase Female Participation

Across the world, society holds men and women to different standards. There are precise gender roles and stereotypes that are well established. In the western world, women are supposed to be nurturers, cleaners, and the chef. Whereas men are perceived as strong, independent, and athletic. When these social norms are broken, it is not uncommon for specific labels to be given, such as being called a lesbian. Over the past few centuries, these stereotypes and gender roles have been challenged by many women and feminists. An area where these stereotypes and gender roles have been under scrutiny and analyzed is in the world of sport and physical activities. However, traditional female stereotypes continue to conquer. Gender inequality has accomplished small victories but is still an enormous part of sports which is evident through the little recognition received for competitions along with the difference between men’s and women’s professional level of sport, being looked at as attractive instead of being talented, and the very few female coaches. Eventually, there is hope that the sports world will not be considered the masculine domain, and there will no longer be a legacy of bias against the female athlete.

Women have struggled for more than two centuries to be taken serious as professionals. There should not be a double standard in sports especially if it is loved and played by both genders. Over the years, females have competed against the stereotype of being too fragile both mentally and physically to play strenuous sports. The passion and work ethic of the female professional athletes is just as strong as the males and everyone should be treated equal and be able to have a chance at making a better living for themselves as well as their family. One area that still faces a continual struggle in sports is gender equality. Female

Australia is widely regarded as both characterised and united by sport. Sport has an elevated place in Australia's official and popular national culture, and the country’s reputation for being a 'paradise of sport' has become a largely unquestioned aspect of the Australian way of life. Gender is a social construct that outlines the roles, behaviours, characteristics and actions that a specific society deems appropriate for men and women (WHO, 2014). The established relationship between gender equality and sport is a widely regarded issue in not only Australia, but all around the world. Gender equality is achieved when women and men enjoy the same rights and opportunities across all sectors of society, including sport and physical recreation

This essay will argue why Canada should take a substantive approach to women’s representation in parliament. Having an adequate representation of women in parliament would be a huge turning point for women and allow their voices to be heard. Each woman holds a different view, just like men do. Each gender and person will bring their own view forth and allow for a diverse House. The issue is that women are not getting adequate representation, and therefore are not being able to represent their views. Men have a much larger congregation than women, therefore overpowering the views/ideologies of them. In Canada, everyone strives for equality, and the best place to start is to take a substantive approach to women’s representation in parliament.

There was another right, not pertaining to voting or working, that is just as if not more important that women started demanding to have. The right over her own body. One of the biggest of these issues was a woman getting to decide when and if she wanted to get pregnant, though many fought for this right early into the twentieth century, legal birth control was not available to even married woman until the second half of the century and abortions until very late into the century were seen as a criminal, punishable offense. Though information was accessible early on, it was obvious the government didn’t want women using any birth control measures. Many more conservative citizens argued “Give a woman power over her own body, and who knows what might happen,” it was believed that giving woman the power to make this choice would through off the “natural” power balance, with the father at the top of the household making any and all decisions. Moreover, the protection of woman after being sexually assaulted, was all but none existent. Police, jurors, and judges were all quick to try and make the woman admit she had consented; police were also very much willing to turn a blind eye to domestic abuse. It wasn’t until nearly the turn of the twenty first century that this became known as rape, and was punishable by law.

Within sport, as throughout society, gender differences exist. The socially constructed phenomenon of gender dictates a dichotomous system whereby females are feminine and males are masculine. Focusing on females specifically, society determines the feminine traits and roles ascribed to this gender. Being domesticated, slender, passive and heterosexual are a part of the desirable appearance that society has formed surrounding femininity (Wolf, 1991). On the other side of the dichotomy is the masculine realm that sport plays into. Sport is fuelled by muscle, power and aggressiveness, which are behaviours and images associated to masculinity. Sport therefore, defies all existing female gender ideals. It would be assumed that females have no place within this institution due to the gender clash. However, female athletes do exist, and many are very successful. For this to work, sport has established and reinforced the social constructions of gender that exist in society. Female athletes are viewed as inferior and are pushed into gender appropriate sports. Furthermore, they are often labeled as masculine until they can prove otherwise, and so great attempts are made to reassert femininity. The stigma associated to being masculine or homosexual for female athletes is so great that many have become irrationally fearful of this label. The sexualisation of the female body and overt displays of heterosexuality are used in

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.

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.

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.

Do we choose how to treat women? Or women choose how to be treated? In our world women are more likely to get their rights robbed and taken away from them and it shows how men and women aren’t equal in their basic rights, political views ,education and jobs . Women are being treated unfairly and that could lead to huge problems where it would be hard to fix. I will be clearing this social issue by comparing it to other countries.

The 21st Century has brought about improvements to the general welfare state in Canada – greater access to resources such as food and shelter. Women still struggle to find equitable living conditions in our society. In fact, women below the poverty line require significantly more attention than men. The number of homeless women is drastically increasing due to rising levels of domestic abuse. Women require greater medical attention due to drastic rates of various health issues. And finally, women find it more difficult to attain equitable pay in the workforce, and often must resort to alternate methods to make a fair wage. Women who experience domestic abuse flee the home in order to escape the mental and physical mistreatment, as well as for their safety. According to a study, domestic abuse occurs more frequently among unemployed or poor people (Novac, 4). Women must rely on other sources for food and shelter in order to survive. Ultimately domestic

When a person of a specific gender enters a non-traditional sport for their gender/sex, many social and moral issues will arise challenging that person involved in that particular sport. The intentions of the individual will be questioned as well as their personal interest in the sport. Before any of these questions are asked, there must be a redefinition of gender roles, femininity, and masculinity. In order for a person to enter a non-traditional sport for their gender/sex without being criticize about gender morality, society must set flexible definitions for femininity and masculinity.

The sports world has been a new area where women are recognized. In previous times women’s sports were almost non-existent. In schools many girl teams did not receive adequate funds for uniforms and equipment. Boys sports were much more popular, such as football or basketball. If a girl wanted to play a guy sport she would be labeled as a

SIRC 2013, Motivate Canada 2014. For example, the Title IX legislation of 1972 dramatically increased opportunities for girls to participate in school based athletics. Since then, the number of female athletes has increased by more than 800% (Salkind 2006:125). Also, CAAWS (2013) programs seek to create opportunities for girls and women to participate and lead in sports. By way of community action projects, trained female youth facilitators lead young women and provide them opportunities to participate in sports (SIRC 2013). Participants suggested that in order to achieve their goals in health, the sports facility has a health program on fitness, nutrition, rest, and leisure activities that will help them achieve these goals. These comprehensive health programs are the factors that encourage them to continuously participate in specific facilities. Also, participants suggested that the programs are good because their instructors and coaches are all certified. This has boosted the confidence of the participants to achieve healthy and active lifestyle. They said these have influenced them to participate in sports.Factors that inhibit participation is facilities Alexandris and Carroll (1997). Participants complained that it was extremely expensive to employ the services of professionals. According to Kozak and Kozak (2013:107) Gender is a social and cultural construct that discriminates against women in many sectors, including leisure involvement. Thus women dressed as a men to avoid attack from men (Caudwell 2012:68). They are exposed here as the disguise is taken off. The factors influencing womens participation in sports are numerous Byers et al (2012:148).