Every day, I wake up and thank heaven for being born Canadian. I do this mostly because Canada is a great country, one that offers its citizens, both men and women, many freedoms. But, it’s important to remember it hasn’t always been that way — at least not for us women.
March 8, 2011 marks the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, a day set aside to honour women’s achievements in participating in society as equals among men. The concept, first started by Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland in 1911, picked up momentum as more and more women joined the workforce as men left their jobs to fight in two world wars.
The United Nations was formed in 1945, after WWII. The UN made great strides for women around the world with its founding charter that proclaimed gender equality as a basic human right. The feminist movement was again recognized on the world stage in 1977 when the UN formally designated March 8 as a day to set aside each year in honour of women’s rights and international peace. Today, we celebrate International Women’s Day, and in some places, International Women’s Week, by looking back to see how far women have come and how far they still have to go.
Way back when, women were considered property, property owned by men that is. In case you were wondering, that’s where we get the tradition of the father “giving away” the bride at weddings. Thankfully, wedding traditions have evolved. Now when a father “gives away” his daughter it signals his blessing of the marital union about to take place.
Canadian women have come a long way since confederation. We have the British North America Act, that legislation which created Canada in 1867, to thank for women not being considered as persons, at least not “qualified persons.” The BNA Act defined a person as a “he,” a gender-biased use of language that women still fight today. The implications of the BNA Act meant women could not vote or run for public office.
The first wave of feminism took place in the early 1900s, and is often referred to as the suffrage movement. To discourage men from attending their gatherings, “suffragettes” held frilly Pink Teas so they could meet and organize public demonstrations in support of women obtaining the civil right to vote. Many suffragettes were thrown into prison for their efforts.
The Famous 5 was made up of five Canadian women — Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Louise McKinney, and Irene Parlby — each of whom championed the rights of women and children. Members of the Famous 5 participated in many a Pink Tea. Their landmark work, the challenge of the “Persons’ Case,” ultimately won Canadian women the right to vote as well as the right to run for elected office in government. For their efforts in getting women recognized as persons, the Famous 5 were later immortalized in bronze as well as being commemorated on the back of Canada’s $50 bill. It’s rather mind-boggling when you stop to consider these fundamental women’s rights only came into effect in Canada in 1929, less than 100 years ago.
Oh, and those designer blue jeans that young girls wear to school these days? Yours truly helped bring denim into mainstream culture at a time when schoolgirls were only allowed to wear dresses and skirts, and, on occasion, dress slacks. It was the 1970s when this took place, and my risk for being a part of this movement included the threat of suspension or expulsion from high school.
Canadian women fought hard in the 60s, 70s, and 80s for pay equity and equal opportunity for jobs. While we have more job opportunities and choices now, women still can’t always count on getting the same pay as their male counterparts for the same job. Old habits die hard, I suppose. At least girls have more choices when it comes to education than they did in the early 70s. Long gone are the days when a girl’s choice of careers is limited to the “pink” streams of nursing, teaching, secretarial or homemaking.
Whether it’s for your mother, your daughter, your sister, your friend, or yourself, celebrating International Women’s Day by not taking women’s hard-won achievements in Canada for granted — now that’s in our best interest.
