Women's Rights In Canada

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Women's legal rights are a unique body of law with a distinct history in Canada. Noticeably, the establishments of the Human Rights Act and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms had effectively ensured women's rights in Canada. It has accumulated much experience in reducing discrimination against women, improved their social status. In prior to 1977, women faced a number of issues that men simply do not have to contend with - They were frequently treated as mere property by the Canadian society, they did not obtain suffrage or opportunities to run for political office, and they were excluded from universities and professional schools. In addition, There were few career opportunities for middle-class women outside of nursing and teaching. However, Canadian had never gave up on fighting for their own legal rights and equal treatments. Notably, women's suffrage groups had existed since the 1870, nevertheless, people found little support in Canada for women's right to vote. Later on in 1916, Manitoba …show more content…

Following the establishment of Canadian Human Rights Act in 1977, the rights of individuals and advance equality of opportunity for all had been effectively ensured. In 1983, a civil servants union complained that women were not being paid the same as men. The Canadian Human Rights tribunal ruled that these female employees had been discriminated against over the years and ordered the federal government to pay billions of dollars in back wages. In 1995, the federal government passed the Employment Equity Act to correct discrimination experienced by certain groups. In addition the Act contained a provision – Section 78 – that gives government the power to require big employers to measure whether they are paying women and men equally. This approach promoted and protected women’s human rights while allowing society to benefit from the capabilities of all its

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