Essay on Women's Rights in Canadian History

In October of 1929, women across Canada were given the right to be considered equal to men. Emily Murphy born on 14 March 1868 was a women’s right activist, judge and even an author. The contributed to Canada as a feminist, most commonly known for her “Persons Case”. In 1916, when Emily Murphy was appointed as the first female magistrate in British Empire. During her first case, the defendant’s lawyer was against her decision as legally under British North American Act of 1967, she wasn’t a legal person, and therefore, she should not have the right to make any decision for the case. Supreme Court allowed women to judge but they cannot become a senator. Murphy protested the definition of “persons” in BNA, so along with four other women, Emily

The government and the general populace realized how hard the woman had worked for the sake of Canada, and this earned woman the respect that they had longed for from the general populace and the government. Furthermore, this very sense of respect was proved when the government under Prime Minister Borden approved the War measures act on September 20, 1917(“Woman’s right to vote in Canada”). This very act was a prime gesture from the Canadian government that illustrated how winning the respect of the people resulted in the destruction of the misogynistic sentiments of that era. Furthermore, many historians regard the “War Times Act” as a gesture that was carried out in order to acknowledge the efforts that women had done in order to aid in the war(“Suffrage in Canada”). As said previously, woman raised funds for war, they volunteered as nurses overseas, worked endless hours in factories in order to build munitions, and provided countless other services for the benefit of the economy and the government. Moreover, they simultaneously kept their families together,”while men went overseas”(“Woman get the vote”), and kept war efforts moving through funds raised by various non-profit organizations run by women. The government witnessed this and rewarded the services of such woman by granting them the right to vote. Furthermore, the fact the government wanted to integrate women into the Canadian political system reveals that the long arduous toiling that woman had done for the nation was finally beginning to reap rewards for their own battle for gender equality.. Although, the right to vote was only bestowed upon those who were related to soldiers fighting overseas, it nonetheless

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.

The changing roles of women in Canada between 1900 and 1946 greatly impacted women’s lives today. Women during this time period led movements to gain rights for themselves. The Women’s Christian Temperance Union, Flappers, and the Famous Five showed women’s strength in society. Women displayed their contributions to Canada as they worked in different industries. Due to the changing roles of women during these years, women’s power resulted in the gaining of rights and personhood.

What was the most underrepresented social group in the elected assemblies of the world? whether is the minority ethnic, religious groups or the poor? According to Putman’s statistic, the answer was “women”. (Putnam 1976 cited in Megyery 1991) Statistics have shown that although women around the globe occupy more than one half of the population, very small proportion become political elite. Different from what women have encountered, man tends to dominate many spheres in life which includes electoral politics. Such gender disparity happens everywhere not just in Canada. Ever since Canadian women suffrage and the right to candidacy was achieved, they have made a couple strides in political arena, yet not as many as they wish with the existence of electoral glass ceiling standing

Anthony organised demonstrations and hunger strikes. The campaign was led by the Canadian Woman's Suffrage Association, the association supported by National Council of Women of Canada (NCWC), founded by Lady Aberdeen, wife of Canada's governor general. She used her influence to channel what she called “the unused capacity of women in Canada” to achieve reform. The Prairies first had success with the movement because women were already struggling with men against harsh farm life, which meant men already included women equally, but farmers saw this as a way to increase farm vote and farmers' influence. As for British Columbia, the fight lasted more than forty-five years, beginning when the province joined Confederation in 1871. Susan B. Anthony spoke in Victoria, favouring women's rights in the same year, and for the year after, a bill supporting women's rights was defeated in the legislature, only two members voting in favour of the bill. By 1873, women who owned property won the right to vote in city or town elections, but in 1899, the bill was again declined, fortunately, this time, the vote exceeded 15 to

Women’s suffrage is the right of women to vote in the political elections. The Women’s suffrage movement was a struggle for many decades having been proposed to address essential issues of equity and justice and to improve women’s status in Canada which would then change the lives of women living in Canada. In World War One Canadian women began to question why poor, illiterate, immigrant men could vote but women could not. This pressure allowed women’s suffrage in

Women worked in munitions factories and overseas as nurses. The suffrage groups finally received attention and more rights for the women’s big part in the war. The first law allowing women to vote, was the Military Voters Act of 1917, which allowed nurses and women in the armed services to vote in the federal election. Then on September 20, the same year in 1917, the Wartime Election Act was passed which extended to allow women with male family members in the war, to vote. In 1918, the right to vote in federal elections extended to all white Canadian women over the age of 21. Provincially, women feminists and suffragists like Nellie McClung and Cora Hind won Manitoba women the right to vote in provincial elections. Finally, by April 1920, the last province Quebec joined in, and all women could vote excluding those who banned because of racial

Beginning in the early 1900s, women started the women’s suffrage in order to gain the right the vote and receive equal rights as men. Women would walk the streets as they would protest and make their presence known and their voices heard. Many women were arrested and brutally hurt in the struggle to gain equal rights. After years of fighting, the 19th amendment was passed and gave women the right to vote. Even though women were given the right to vote, they were far away from receiving equal rights as men. A woman can have a more educated background compared to a man and would still make less than the average

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

With the advancement of suffrage to equal pay, over the last century, women’s rights have progressed immensely. Through historic marches and demonstrations across the United States, women protested for their equal place in politics and social progress. Despite the fear-mongering components used in achieving these rights, women’s rights are still thoroughly debated within society today. Over the last century, incredible and unreachable goals have been fulfilled for women, such as the right to vote and a sense of equal state in the “Free World,” and can only improve in the years to come.

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;

Poverty is a significant threat to women’s equality. In Canada, more women live in poverty than men, and women’s experience of poverty can be harsher, and more prolonged. Women are often left to bear more burden of poverty, leading to ‘Feminization of poverty’. Through government policy women inequality has resulted in more women and children being left in poverty with no means of escaping. This paper will identify some key aspects of poverty for Canadian women. First, by identifying what poverty entails for Canadian women, and who is more likely to feel the brunt of it. Secondly the discussion of why women become more susceptible to poverty through government policy and programs. Followed by the effects that poverty on women plays in

Women have always been fighting for their rights for voting, the right to have an abortion, equal pay as men, being able to joined the armed forces just to name a few. The most notable women’s rights movement was headed in Seneca Falls, New York. The movement came to be known as the Seneca Falls convention and it was lead by women’s rights activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton during July 19th and 20th in 1848. Stanton created this convention in New York because of a visit from Lucretia Mott from Boston. Mott was a Quaker who was an excellent public speaker, abolitionist and social reformer. She was a proponent of women’s rights. The meeting lasted for only two days and was compiled of six sessions, which included lectures on law, humorous

Section 15 of the Charter guarantees equality rights which protects women, people of colour and other visible minorities from discrimination. Critics argue that section 15 does not do enough to advance equality rights and over the years it has created inherent limitations for women, however this is not an accurate statement. Section 15 is a progressive part of the Charter; the equality frame has advanced women’s rights over the past thirty years, it has allowed women to play a bigger policy role and the addition of new characteristics to the equality frame demonstrates that it is able to accommodate change. Using the Andrews case, Nixon case and Bill 94 debate as examples this paper shows how section 15 has been beneficial for Canadian women, they can now fight inequalities and seek justice because section 15 has given them a voice.