It is always gratifying to see women helping women; it is intensely so when the Consort of our Queen’s representative, the first lady of our land, gathers the helpful women of all nationalities, creeds and societies together, and by uniting them in one Council enables them to work for the furtherance and uplifting, not only for womanhood, but all of humanity; inspiring them all with a greater love of home, a greater love of country, a greater desire to be helpful to others springing from the inspiration of the Fatherhood of God and the Golden Rule which this Council takes as its motto. On the 8th of November 1894 Maria Grant enthusiastically introduced Lady Ishbel Maria Marjoribanks Aberdeen and her new National Canadian Council of Women to a large public meeting celebrating her and her husband’s, the Governor General of Canada, visit Victoria, BC. On stage beside her were a number of government officials and religious supporters as well as a large crowd of men and women, many of whom represented the various societies, associations, and unions which had worked together to organize this moment. Both the Colonist and Standard featured the story on their front pages citing Grant’s call to ‘unite women of all nationalities, creeds and societies together’ as a perfect reflection of the Council of Women’s beliefs. However it is not this phrase that historians or even contemporaries focused on for their understanding of the Council. The rest of Grant’s speech and Lady Aberdeen’s response to it, are traditionally mined for phrases such as ‘womanhood’, ‘unity’, ‘women helping woman’, women helping society’, morality’, and the’ Golden Rule’ and despite the apparent openness to women of all kinds in their speeches, historians e... ... middle of paper ... ...Early Feminists, 1845-1945,” in Rethinking Canada: The Promise of Women’s History, 5th ed., eds. Mona Gleason and Adele Perry (Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press, 2006). Fiamengo, 159. Fiamengo, 147. Carol Cooper, “Native Women of the Northern Pacific Coast: An Historical Perspective, 1830-1900,” Journal of Canadian Studies 27 no. 4 (Winter 1992): 44; Susan Neylan, The Heavens are Changing: Nineteenth-Century Protestant Missions and Tsimshian Christianity (Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press), 2003. Also see Myra Rutherdale, “ ‘She Was a Ragged Little Thing’: Missionaries, Embodiment, and Refashioning Aboriginal Womanhood in Northern Canada,” Contact Zones: Aboriginal and Settler Women in Canada’s Colonial Past, eds. Katie Pickles and Myra Rutherdale (UBC Press: Vancouver, 2005). Cooper, 45. Neylan, 106. Neylan, 265.
Srigley looks at women’s employment in terms of the effects of intersecting factors of race, ethnicity, marital status, gender and class. She argues that: “Anglo-Celtic dominance created both privileges and disadvantages for female workers who had differing access to employment.” Srigley states that: “Canadian feminist historians . . . have paid significantly less attention to race than to gender as an analyti...
Annie McClung introduced Nellie McClung to the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, W.C.T.U.. Annie McClung, “showed Nellie the urgency for women’s rights in the issues of temperance and female suffrage” (****-1981). Soon, Nellie became a temperance leader herself and joined the W.T.C.U.. This involvement would prove to be a huge aspect in Nellie McClung’s life, one that could contribute to her legacy in Canadian history. From this guidance of Annie McClung, Nellie was also introduced to being a speaker and the campaign of universal franchise. In addition to the deep social concerns Annie McClung brought into Nellie’s life, she also introduced Nellie to her son, Wesley McClung.
Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, Vol. 5, No. 3 (Autumn, 1980), pp. 17-20. JSTOR. 2
Morris, M. (2000). Some facts and dates in Canadian women’s history of the 20th century. Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women, 20(1). Retrieved from http://criaw-icref.ca/millenium.
On July 19th 1848, the first Women's Convention was held in Seneca Falls, from which 68 women and 32 men participated, to discuss Women's rights and equality to men. During the convention, was written the “Declaration of Sentiments”, document that approached the issues to be overcome by women, including their rights regards: voting; social equality; intellectual capacity; equal payment and right to occupy high positions. Today, one hundred and sixty six years after this convention was held, what have women really accomplished in terms of acceptance and support from our government and society? Researches show that women are still under paid in comparison to men in same positions; women are still struggling to occupy higher positions within the companies they work; society is still imposing to women the main part on parenthood without attributing shared responsibilities to men; government is still lacking support regards laws involving maternity leave and equal pay.
Due to the a sentence of working men's, women were suggested to do men’s work, such as making clothes for oversea men, filling bullets and shell bombs with materials, and many more occupations and works that were once the ‘privilege’ only to men. After WWI ended, women were forced to leave their occupation and return back to their life as typical ‘house maids’. This did not only cause the women’s anger and rebellion due to the fact that their jobs were taken away from them, but it also planted seeds deeply within women’s hearts of the consciousness of gender inequality. Before women in Canada had ever taken on jobs before, their lives were all about pleasing their men and baring, caring for their children. Women did not have a life of their own before the famous The Person’s case, led by Emily Murphy, Irene Marryat Parlby, Nellie Mooney McClung, Louise Crummy McKinney and Henrietta Muir Edward; however , that is to say after the women in the prairies had granted votes for them. To resume, the newly funded experience for the women due to their new jobs had sparked the courage and anger in them. This can also explain the year of women first received their rights to vote in 1916, barely two years after the outbreak of WWI. While women’s men were away fighting during WWI, votes were given to women during conscription so that the wives could vote in place of their husband.
“Honey, you’re not a person, now get back in the kitchen and make me a sandwich!” If a husband were to say these words to his wife today, he would likely receive a well-deserved smack to the face. It is not until recently that Canadian women have received their status as people and obtained equal rights as men. Women were excluded from an academic education and received a lesser pay than their male counter parts. With the many hardships women had to face, women were considered the “slave of slaves” (Women’s Rights). In the past century, women have fought for their rights, transitioning women from the point of being a piece of property to “holding twenty-five percent of senior positions in Canada” (More women in top senior positions: Report). The Married Women’s Property Act, World War I, The Person’s Case, and Canadian Human Rights Act have gained Canadian women their rights.
1. She is regarded as the “Grandmother of British Feminism” whose ideals helped shape the
Thompson, John Herd, and Mark Paul Richard. "Canadian History in North American Context." In Canadian studies in the new millennium. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008. 37-64.
However, we cannot completely assume this article is going to persuade all women to progress beyond these issues by uniting and devoting themselves to these underlying conflicts. Some readers may fear the impossible of completing such a great task as this because this problem has continued to linger from the 70’s into now. Overall, Laurie has accomplished a great task in showing her dedication to women’s rights and their future by delivering the problems and also giving the readers insight on how to solve them. In detail, Laurie not only explains the issues she has seen, but also she explains her personal experiences so the readers can better relate to the message she is trying to
Moran, Mickey. “1930s, America- Feminist Void?” Loyno. Department of History, 1988. Web. 11 May. 2014.
Kugel, Rebecca, and Lucy Eldersveld Murphy. Native women's history in eastern North America before 1900: a guide to research and writing. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2007.
156. The 158. Driscoll, Kerry. A. The "Feminism" - "The 'Feminism' American History Through Literature, 1870-1920. Ed.
French, Katherine L., and Allyson M. Poska. Women and Gender in the Western past. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 2007. Print.
... through organizations which help improve the standard of living of females. Women’s participation in community-related activities has proved to be of great benefit for them.