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Women Demand Change. February 8, 2012. At the Turn of the Century. No woman had the right to vote No woman could be elected to federal or provincial government A man had complete control over his family – he could collect their income, and put their children up for adoption
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Women Demand Change February 8, 2012
At the Turn of the Century • No woman had the right to vote • No woman could be elected to federal or provincial government • A man had complete control over his family – he could collect their income, and put their children up for adoption • A woman’s chief function “was to keep house for her husband and to bear children.” One out of every five women died in childbirth.
At the Turn of the Century • Wives had to obey husbands, could legally be beaten • Women could not claim homesteads (unless she was a head of a household) • Married women had the right to financial support, but wives of alcoholics had a difficult time getting this support • Few women received post-secondary education, University of Toronto only permitted women in the 1880s • Professions were closed off to women: doctors, lawyers, church ministers
Roles started to change during this time period • More women worked in factories, mills, stores (but these women were typically unmarried) • Large number of women worked as household servants in upper and middle class homes (but the wages were very poor) • By 1911, 35% of household servants were recent immigrants • Educated jobs included teaching and nursing
Women’s fashion • Traditionally wore long skirts tucked in at the waist • Fancy Dresses were very elaborate and increasingly uncomfortable • By 1918, the Eaton’s catalogue was advertising overalls for women.
Women’s Christian Temperance Union • Canadian Branch was formed in 1874 • Its aim was to combat the problems created by alcohol. • They were concerned with the number of wives and children who were being beaten, abused, or neglected. • They tried to make the younger generation aware by developing programs in schools, control the number of stores selling liquor • Their ultimate goal was to stop the sale of alcohol altogether.
One important lesson was learned… • Until they had the right to vote, no government was going to listen to them. • If they had the right to vote, women could defeat politicians and governments who ignored their demands.
The Movement for Suffrage • Suffrage: the right to vote • Suffragists: members of a movement who were organizing to obtain voting rights for women • Ultimate goal for the Suffragists: Win the same rights and opportunities that men enjoyed. Getting the vote was only the first step.
Victory! • In 1915 the government of Manitoba was defeated, and the new Premier T.C. Norris promised that women would have the right to vote. • January 27, 1916 it was passed. • Similar bills were passed only a few months later in other provinces (Québec being last, 1940) • Agnes Macphail was the first woman to be elected to the House of Commons in 1921 (she was re-elected four times)
Nellie McClung • Started work as a teacher at 16 • Made her mark when she refused to ban girls in her class from lunchtime football games. • She joined the WCTU at the time of her marriage, and started to fight for women in the political realm (to vote and own property) • In 1914 she helped to defeat the Manitoba provincial government which had opposed giving women the right to vote. • In 1916 women won the vote in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. • She was elected in the Alberta legislature in 1921
The Persons Case • In 1916 Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, Henrietta Edwards, and Irene Parlby petitioned the Prime Minister to appoint a woman to the Senate. • The British North America Act stated that qualified “persons” could be appointed. • Was a woman a “person” in the eyes of the law?
The Persons Case • The Persons Case dragged on until April 1928, when the Supreme Court of Canada decided women were not “persons” and could not be appointed. • Judge Emily Murphy and her supporters “The Famous Five” appealed their case to the Privy Council in Britain (the highest court of appeal in the British Empire). • The Privy Council approved that women were “persons” and qualified to sit in the senate. • In 1999, there were 102 Senators in Canada, 32 were women.
DateJurisdiction1917.09.20 Canada (armed forces relatives)1918.05.24 Canada (all Canadian women)1916.01.28 Manitoba1916.03.14 Saskatchewan1916.04.19 Alberta1917.04.05 British Columbia1917.04.12 Ontario1918.04.26 Nova Scotia1919.04.17 New Brunswick1919.05.20 Yukon1922.05.03 Prince Edward Island1925.04.03 Newfoundland and Labrador1940.04.25 Quebec1951.06.12 Northwest Territories
