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 …show more content…
The pains and dangers they have endured in our defence give them the right to expect it” (46). The arrival of the Great Depression in the 1930s did nothing to lessen this sentiment. Due to the lack of jobs as a result of the Depression, women’s jobs were not seen as a priority, in fact, in a reply to a letter written in 1936 to the National Employment Commission, the Commissioner wrote that “[Women] have a lot of rights in good times, when there is lots of employment,” in an attempt to justify the takeover of women’s jobs (87). Once again, women were being edged out of the workforce. Society ignored the contributions they made during the war and their worth as workers, instead impressing upon them the role of the homemaker that women were trying to move away from. During the 1940s women were sequestered into a role of submissiveness and domesticity, both at home and in the workplace. Post World War II Canada promoted the dream of domestic bliss to boost the economy. Women were expected to be stay-at-home mothers while the men were the breadwinners. The Canadian magazine ‘Chatelaine’ …show more content…
During the ‘50s and ‘60s, girls were encouraged and expected to marry and have a family. It was during this time period that women’s employment became of less importance to those wanting to recover and rebuild their lives after the war. An ad for International Sterling depicted the similarities between a graduation and a marriage for young women. The ad said, “ Somewhere there’ll be another June - another white dress, another aisle” (114). It is a reflection of the expectation for girls to finish school and get married. Another ad in ‘Seventeen’ magazine for hope chests has the pitch, “Some special occasion is surely coming up soon - your birthday, graduation, engagement perhaps…” (121) Despite the opinion of the majority being against women working, there were still those who fought for women’s rights, especially in the workforce. In 1967, the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada was established to attend to issues that concerned women, which included their problems regarding employment (145). The Commission’s recommendations included that “‘gender’ and ‘marital status’ be prohibited grounds for discrimination by employers”, that “two qualified women from each province be appointed to the Senate”, and that “the federal government name more women judges to all courts within their jurisdiction” (145). This invigoration for the women’s employment movement
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
Considering the relatively extensive rights women have gained in the past century, this investigation will provide an in-depth analysis of what rights have truly been gained, at what pace, when and to what extent, specifically in regards to Canadian women in the labor force. Therefore, the question as to “How did World War II affect Women’s Rights in the Labor Force of Canada?” will be investigated by first representing three sources (all scholarly articles), "Women and Income Security in the Post-War Period: The Case of Unemployment Insurance, 1945-1962" By Ann Porter, "Revisiting Canada 's civilian women during World War II" By Jeff Keshen and “Pick One Intelligent Girl: Employability, Domesticity and the Gendering of Canada 's Welfare State, 1939-1947” By Jennifer Anne Stephen. Anecdotes, statistics and other pertinent evidence will be deduced from each source in order to be presented, and evaluated. Evaluation of each source will include analysis of potential author biases and overall message of the source for readers, as well as an evaluation of the accuracy of the data presented in each source. Consequently, a conclusion will be drawn in order to distinguish the reliability the sources in giving accurate support and evidence to the guiding question.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, many Canadians were still adjusting to its new ways and ideas. Then the Greatest War the world had ever seen transformed the map of Europe and changed the nations, and the people, who fought in it forever. In Canada, for example, during the war the government faced great challenges such as the conscription crisis when the Country was divided by politics. In addition Canada was accepting the new, untraditional, roles of women, who during the war were allowed to work for the first time in ‘men’s professions”; such as
The period 1940-1975 represented a time of trouble within the United States and overseas. As World War II ended in 1945, many Cold war conflicts erupted shortly after that, increasing social controversy among teenagers, minorities and especially women. During this time period, gender inequality was ongoing in many aspects of life. Women were tired of constantly staying home engaging in domestic activities and were dissatisfied in their roles as “housewives”. The rise of the women’s rights movement was spurred by the growth of women joining the workforce, resentment of being treated as inferior to men, and the rise of unity among women.
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
In the end, the changing role of Canada’s women during the War was the beginning of a chain reaction of events that have forever changed the Canadian workplace and also that of men’s archaic views on the capabilities of women in general. Many look back to the period during the war in which women were encouraged to get out of the kitchen and go to work, and wonder how a five year period could be so instrumental in forever changing the norms of society? Two authors, who
Canadian women were being urged to stay at home and support soldiers by manufacturing various goods, because of their fragile and emotional personas. Considering how many men had left Canada to fight in the war, women had to adapt and take on new roles. These new diverse roles crossed many social norms and encompassed a whole variety of industries.
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
In the past, WWII and WWI, women were very dominant; they had to take care of their children, do all the chores and also had to cook the food. During WWII, women had to take place for the men (First world war.com). The war changed the life for all Canadian women. When men went to fight, women were called upon to fill their jobs, and this included many jobs that were previously thought of unsuitable for women. Women were called up for war work from March 1941(Women during World War II). The roles of the women were positively impacted by World War II, because they had the potential to re-enter the workforce, control the farms and join the military for the first time. Taking control of the military was tough, but women had shown that they could work together and handle the situation.
Undeniably, the outlook of women in the workforce changed following the advent of World War II. Traditionally, the role of caretaker of the house and home was assigned to the woman. Society and institutions facilitated, accepted and supported this way of thinking and way of life. Working outside the home was considered "a man's job". A woman expressing an interest in being anything other than a homemaker and wife was frowned upon. Accepted was the notion that men are better laborers and a woman could not perform at the same level as a man and therefore are undesirable candidates for work in the office or in factories. When America entered in the Second World War, the role of women as primarily stewards of the home was forever changed. As men answered the call of duty, they left behind a void not only in the hearts of their loved ones but also in the workplace. During this time not only were vacancies found in the work that once employees turned soldiers left behind but also we witnessed an increase of labor need for specific industries, such as those that supported the wartime efforts. Women entered the workforce in droves, filling the much needed void in the offices and the factories. Women become the soldiers on the home front and once the war was over, there was no erasing the progress women made in proving capable and ready to hold gainful employment outside the home. This paper addresses women in the workforce,
While social change has brought on more changes than what women are a custom too, at one point in history women actually felt a form of importance in fulfilling their roles not only in the home; but outside as well. “These demographic shifts account for many new or altered roles, such as increased number of duel-earner families, later and fewer marriages, fewer children, increased life expectancy, and the massive migration shifting employees across a nation and across the globe” (Lindsey, 2011, pg. 275).
This speech drastically enhances women’s status by drawing government’s attention, which enforces women’s equality and human rights both domestically and internationally. In fact, more women are employed year by year. In 2009, over 8.1 million women were employed in Canada, which is double the number of women employed three decades ago; in 2009, 28% of the women aged 25 to 54 have a bachelor or postgraduate university degree in Canada, which is more than double the proportion twenty years ago. Although there is still a long way to go for women to be truly treated equally, Clinton’s speech in 1995 definitely gave an initiating
Sexism at work is not the lone way women are discriminated in Canada, since women are also confronted with biased clothing rules. In modern day society, a woman is encouraged to dress in provocative attire, is given restrictions in what she wears, and is notified that wearing clothes that shows one’s shoulders is inappropriate, which remains the contrary for men. To start off, female students are not permitted to wear certain attire at school as it is claimed to distract their male classmates. For example, a 16 year-old female, attending a public high school in London, Ontario, “was called to the principal’s office and told to cover up, for wearing a grey skirt and black and turquoise top” ('They were sexualizing my outfit': Toronto students). The fact that an
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.