Women In Canada In The 1950s And 1960s
In the early 1950s, about one-quarter of women aged 25 to 54 participated in the labour market, that is they had a job or were looking for one in contrast, virtually every man in the same age group was participating in the labour market during this period (150. statcan. gc, n. d. ). However, women began increasing their presence in the labour market as social norms regarding gender roles evolved, new technologies such as electrical appliances reduced the time needed to perform household chores, families had fewer children and employment opportunities in the service sector increased (150. statcan. gc, n. d. ).
The increasing presence of women in the labour market led to a large rise in the median annual wages and salaries of women, women’s earnings more than doubled between the mid-1960s and the early 2010s, rising from $15,700 in 1965 to $37,200 in 2010 (150. statcan. gc, n. d. ).
The periods 1950s and 1960s challenged not only the life of non-aboriginal women, but also the life aboriginal life. The Aboriginal women in canada frequently experience challenges and discrimination that are not necessarily shared by non-aboriginal women, nor are by Aboriginal men (indigenousfoundations. arts. ubc, n. d. ). Aboriginal women have been described as facing a “double-burden” that for being discriminated against as a woman and further for being aboriginal (indigenousfoundations. arts. ubc, n. d. ). To begin to understand this situation and why the circumstances of Aboriginal women deserves their own careful consideration (indigenousfoundations. arts. ubc, n. d. ). As non- Aboriginal settlers first arrived in what is now canada, they brought with them their patriarchal social codes and beliefs and tried to make sense of Aboriginal society through a patriarchal lens (indigenousfoundations. arts. ubc, n. d. ). As the colonies consolidated to form the dominion of canada, crown policies were created throughout the country with the goal of assimilating and “civilizing” first nations people based on a European model. These policies had profound effects on Aboriginal women across the country (indigenousfoundations. arts. ubc, n. d. ).
More than one hundred years ago women in canada formed organizations and joined forces in order to achieve a modicum of social justice for themselves their families and their communities (journals. lib. unb, n. d. ). While maternal feminists claimed that by virtue of their sex women were a source of rectitude that both distinguished them from men and enabled them to make an unique and important contribution to public life, they also demanded rights equal to those enjoyed by men (journals. lib. unb, n. d. ). The private duties owed by women to their families and the public rights claimed by women to participate in politics and employment have created a dynamic tension through which successive waves of the women’s movement have had to navigate (journals. lib. unb, n. d. ).
Once political rights and access were established for most women in canada, feminists continued to advocate for reproductive, marriage, wage and property rights (canlitguides, n. d. ). These rights dealt with the individual and a woman’s rights over her body (canlitguides, n. d. ). Women seemingly had it all good suburban home, a husband, children, the right to vote and the opportunity to get a university education and yet they were deeply unhappy and unfulfilled with their lives (canlitguides, n. d. ).
The campaign for women’s rights exemplifies the changing and contested nature of rights. The process of state formation included the unequal treatment of the nation’s female citizens which was pervasive and entrenched in law (historyofrights, n. d. ) Women were denied the right to vote and were unable to become legislators, magistrates or judges; they were also unable to sit on juries (historyofrights, n. d. ). They lost more than their last name when they married, they lost all status in civil law and could not own property or keep their own wages (historyofrights, n. d. ).
Until the “liberalization” of immigration policy in the early 1960s, Canada had racially discriminatory laws designed to prohibit non-whites from entering the country (medium, n. d. ). In order to fill its post-war need for domestic labor in the 1950s, canada began recruiting black women from the Caribbean (medium, n. d. ). The west Indian domestic scheme launched in 1955 and brought thousands of women from the region to canada in exchange for one year of service as domestic workers, these women were granted permanent residency and the eventual opportunity to send for other family members to join them in their new home (medium, n. d. ).
Canada’s history has been shaped by countless determined women who worked to promote and uphold gender equality in canada (canada, n. d. ). Women championed a number of important human rights that have become core Canadian values- the right to vote in provincial and federal elections, the right to own property, the right earn a fair wage and finally the right to be recognized as “persons” under the law (canada, n. d. ).
Women are now protected from discrimination on the grounds of gender, age, marital status and more by the Canadian human rights act and the Canadian charter of rights and freedom (canada, n. d. ).
Bibliography
- 150. statcan. gc. (n. d. ). Retrieved from 150. statcan. gc: www150. statcan. gc. ca
- canada. (n. d. ). Retrieved from canada: www. canada. ca
- canlitguides. (n. d. ). Retrieved from canlitguides: www. canlitguides. ca
- historyofrights. (n. d. ). Retrieved from historyofrights: https://historyofrights. ca
- indigenousfoundations. arts. ubc. (n. d. ). Retrieved from indigenousfoundations. arts. ubc: https://indigenousfoundations. arts. ubc. ca
- journals. lib. unb. (n. d. ). Retrieved from journals. lib. unb: https://journals. lib. unb. ca
- medium. (n. d. ). Retrieved from medium: https://medium. com
