Chapter 3: Barriers to Achieving Equality

3.1 Introduction A barrier to achieving equality is anything that prevents someone from participating freely in society. Ex: women not being able to vote; limiting immigration for certain countries

3.2 Women’s Rights 150 years ago women had few rights Excluded from universities Could not vote or run in political office Nursing and teaching were the dominant careers In the late 1800’s women joined together to fight for suffrage (the right to vote) In 1876, Dr. Emily Stowe established the first suffrage organization in Canada and pushed for women’s right to vote She was a feminist (one who believes in social, economic, and political equality of the sexes) In 1912, Nellie McClung started the Winnipeg Political Equality League In 1926, Manitoba became the first province to give women the right to vote

Between the Wars During WWI, women had to work in the factories and on farms because the men were gone. This earned them respect. In 1921, the government passed legislation preventing married women from working in government (unless they really needed them) In the same year, 1921, Agnes Macphail became the first woman to be elected to the House of Commons. By 1973, only 22 women had ever been elected to the House of Commons because of the idea that politics was a “man’s occupation”

The Persons Case In 1927, five Alberta feminists (The Famous Five) wanted to know if “persons” who qualified for appointment to the Senate included women. In 1928, the Supreme Court of Canada decided that the word “person” meant male persons only. This famous case is known as the Persons Case The Famous Five appealed this decision and in 1929, the British court overruled the Supreme Court and women were considered legal “persons” who qualified for Senate seats

The Persons Case (2) 1930, the first woman appointed to the Senate, Carine Wilson In 2001, 34 or 105 senators were women! The Famous Five: Nellie McClung, Emily Murphy, Irene Parlby, Henrietta Edwards, and Louise McKinney

After World War II 45,000 women joined the army. They were not allowed to fight the enemy combat They had jobs such as nurses, drivers, firefighters and radio technicians They were paid 20% less than men with the same position After the war, there was favour in hiring men over women. In 1955, law passed abolishing the favouritism 1960, John Diefenbaker passed the Bill of Rights In 1982, protection of women’s rights were set out in section 28 of the Charter guaranteeing rights and freedoms “equally to male and female persons”

Women’s Issues Today Women’s equality is still an issue LEAF (Legal Education and Action Fund) are “a national, non-profit organization working to promote equality for women and girls in Canada” They fight in legal matters such as employment and pay equity, sexual harassment and discrimination against pregnant women.

Pay Equity Pay equity (the principle of equal payment for work of equal value) Pay equity is the law! But there is still inequalities between the sexes the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruled females were discriminated in terms of pay and the government paid $3.5 billion to 23,000 current and retired employees Bell Canada “scored” values of jobs which resulted in women being paid less The union representing Bell employees, wanted $150 million in equity. Bell was willing to pay $60 million, but that wasn’t enough. This is still being fought.

Employment Equity Employment Equity (the principle of equal treatment of all employees based on their abilities) 1995, the Employment Equity Act was passed to protect mainly women, Native peoples, people with disabilities and members of visible minorities This Act requires employers to break down barriers in the workplace and actively heir minority groups The Canadian military is one organization that has not accepted women easily Even though there have been advances, there is still much discrimination and harassment in the Canadian military