Women's Movement In Canada

The 1920s were a brutal time for Canada and most countries in the world. The Great War had just ended and soldiers were coming home to no work and minimal food. While the male soldiers were gone fighting the war, females took their place in factories, manufacturing war equipment and doing regular work that normally men would do. When the surviving soldiers came back, they were furious and wanted work to make money so most of the women were kicked out and replaced by the men. Women were obviously not happy about this and fought to make a change. One of the most notable feminists and successful female suffragists in Canadian history is Emily Murphy. She fought alongside four other feminists to create equal legal recognition as males and succeeded;

Throughout this course, we learn that women’s studies originated as a concerned at the time that “women and men noticed the absence, misrepresentation, and trivialization of women [in addition to] the ways women were systematically excluded from many positions of power and authority” (Shaw, Lee 1). It has always been known that in the past, men have had more privilege than women. Women have battled for centuries against certain patterns of inadequacy that all women experience. Every culture and customs have divergent female identities, however this does not hinder the fact that many of these cultures are based on patriarchal past where men hold more rights than women. Canadian women have sought to overcome these stereotypes and have managed to gain a position of near equality. This was

During the time, there was an impression that women couldn't manage roles away from their normal roles within a household. There was a major change from the traditional roles of women to roles away from their households and even roles in politics and in war. This helped to greatly strengthen the argument for suffrage and helped change the negative ways, people viewed women. When people began to notice that women were contributing just as much as men were to Canada, they were able to win a renewed sense of respect and appreciation from the public. This helped change people's opinion and attract more people, in favor of suffrage. Finally in 1918,

Women’s rights did not officially begin to be a problem until 1848. Many believe that it’s been a problem from at most the 1600’s. Colonial women didn’t give a thought about their rights, but there were some female political leaders. Margaret Brent, a woman who had been given power-of-attorney from Lord Baltimore. Judith Sargent Stevens Murray, the writer of the United States’ first feminist theory. “Will it be said that the judgment of a male of two years old is more sage than that of a female the same age? I believe the reverse is generally observed to be true. But from that period what partiality! How is the one exalted and the other depressed…. The one is taught to aspire, and the other is early confined and limited.”

As ballets were about telling stories or formulating movements, modern dance broke the rules and started to focus more on individual expressions. Loie Fuller (1862 – 1928), Doris Humphrey (1895-1958), and Ruth St. Denis (1877-1968) were pioneering women who took a stand and used their dance performance to speak up for women’s rights. Using dance, they significantly contributed to the Feminist movement in which they embraced self-expression and creativity so that women could be acknowledged in the dance field and in the society as a whole. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, they found for women’s rights by “taking dance to a new form, and creating dances to speak directly and intimately to the viewer” (Au 89). Loie Fuller, Doris Humphrey, and Ruth St. Denis demonstrated the transformation of dance with their innovation of costumes and stage lighting, incorporation of foreign cultures into performance, and creation of natural movements and individual expression that rejected the formal structures of ballet to deform a woman’s body, allowing women to be free from stereotype of a traditional woman.

In 1929 a major achievement was accomplished by the ``famous 5`` for canadian women. They achieved having women defined as an actual person according to the BNA act. Having this victory was a huge step for not just Canadian women but for women all over the world. This also allowed women to be themselves and live outside of the house and kitchen. It allowed them to dream big. For example in 1922 Martha Bowes was first Canadian women radio broadcaster. In 1928 Canada's olympic team allowed women for the first time. Finally in 1951, Canada`s first equal pay legislation between men and women was created by

WW1 had a deeply positive impact on the status of women in Canada. Before WW1, most women had been employed at low-skill and low paying jobs in food, clothing industries and as domestic servants. However, because many men were serving overseas, jobs opened up for women and many of these women were in higher skilled positions. Even though women had skilled jobs, women gained the right to vote due to their contributions to the war effort. Because the Conscription failed due to the government, they passed the Military Act and the Wartime Elections Act. Clearly, we can see that WW1 had improved the status of women in Canada.

WWI/Interwar Years Essay World War 1 and the Inter-war periods are events that molded Canada into what it is today. While these events were drastically different they both impacted Canada greatly. The social, political and economic transformation that the Interwar Period has had on Canada overwhelms the outcomes of WW1, despite both being significant. World War 1 helped Canada solidify Canadian independence apart from the British Empire with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. However, Canadian independence truly developed after WW1 with the modern labour movement, economic stability, and the development of women's rights.

The 20th Century was a time of change for women in Canada. Throughout the century, women contributed to Canadian life in many ways. Social attitudes made it hard for Canadian women to prosper at first, but with the rise of two World Wars, Canadian women saw their chance and rose to the occasion to help the war effort. Their efforts earned all women a new respect in Canadian society. During the early 1900s, women were thought of as the property of their husbands.

One of the major feminist movements that take place in Canada is the March for Women, which is started by the Canadian Women’s March Committee. The Canadian Women’s March Committee (CWMC) is a coalition that comes together to representation from national organizations during 1998. CWMC is comprised with 36 women representing 24 national organizations to deal with ideas that pertains women equality, justice, and rights. They want to free women from patriarchy, neocolonialism and capitalism that are rooted in the oppressive system toward women. CMWC focuses on trying to provide women with a chance to live in world that they are treated as equal, no matter the issue. CMWC works with Canadian women to create demands for the government for issues, such as poverty and violence.

“Because of countless millions of women, who planned, organized, lectured, wrote, marched, petitioned, lobbied, paraded, and broke new ground in every field imaginable, our world is irrevocably changed. Women and men in our generation, and the ones that will follow us, are living the legacy of women’s rights won against staggering odds in a revolution achieved without violence” (para.1)

The word “persons” has enormous legal power (The Persons Case). Prior to the 1920s, women were not considered persons (Persons Case). No woman had yet been appointed to the Canadian Senate or other government job because according to the British North America Act, the word “persons” did not include females (Bolotta 85). Hence, in 1928, a group of famous western women called Alberta’s “Famous Five” took this legal battle to Canada’s supreme court (The Persons Case). On October 28, 1929, when Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, and 3 others were denied their appeal, the Famous Five took the case to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in Britain (Persons Case). Subsequently, the British Privy Council overruled the Supreme Court decision and stated that women were legally persons and were eligible to be appointed to the Senate (Bolotta 94). The Persons Case opened the Senate to women, enabling them to work for change in both the House of Commons and the Upper House. Thus, Emily Murphy became the first female magistrate in the British Empire (86). This was an important victory for the women’s rights movement in Canada and a major development that made the twenties “roar.” The Famous Five not only won the right for women to serve in the Senate but helped pave the way for women to participate equally in – and contribute equally to – all other aspects of life in Canada. Moreover, the legal recognition of women as “persons” meant that women could no longer be denied rights based on narrows interpretation of the

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.

Women have historically had a rocky relationship with governmental, cultural, religious, and social rights. The Women’s Rights movement has been in effect since approximately 1792, with the publication of the first feminist work, “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, by British writer Mary Wollstonecraft” (“Women’s Rights Movement”). While social changes have occurred and more progressive laws have been put into place throughout the years, there is still not equality between the sexes. Additionally, gender roles in different countries differ greatly. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the major causes and concerns of the Women’s Rights movements throughout the decades, as well as denote the differences between more progressive societies and their less accepting counterparts.

Before WWI, women had limited job options with low pay, such as teaching, leaving many women stay in their traditional roles as wives, mothers, and domestic workers. However, when men enlisted in WWI and the war effort needed workers to make supplies, ships, tanks, bombs, etc, many women found themselves doing the same jobs as men. When the men returned from the war, they took back their jobs, but this caused many women to no longer be satisfied by playing their traditional roles. This created consequences, were women fought for their right to vote, greater educational and job opportunities, be able to hold jobs with higher power, and improved labour laws and health care. After many challenges to get equal rights, most women were finally able to obtain a right to vote in 1919, and gain entry to higher job opportunities while being considered as ‘persons’ in 1929. Compare to Canada today, there is one thing that has continued throughout the years, and that is the fight for equality. However, the change is that women are no longer fighting for equal education and health care, but equal pay and the ability to hold higher positions. For example, in 1921, Agnes Macphail was the first woman elected to the House of Commons, resulting in 1 woman out of 235 seats. After the shift of values, Canada has taken some steps by