Today, we live in a society that believes women can do anything men can do. Women can vote, work, and were granted all the same rights and freedoms as men. But, our society was not always this way. In fact, there was a time when women were not even considered people. Many events influenced this change, but there was a few main events that significantly impacted women’s rights. Women’s suffrage, The Persons Case, and women’s fashion helped change our society and our views on women’s rights . Since World War 1, women’s rights have drastically changed for the better, due to new laws and a revolutionized way of thinking. The women’s suffrage movement gave women the right to vote in federal elections. In 1917, the military voters …show more content…
Women did not have the same rights and freedoms as men, were not allowed to work, vote or get paid, and were not treated the same as anybody else. One woman, Mary Ellen Smith from British Columbia, reacted to the news of women not being considered people saying, “The iron dropped into the souls of women in Canada when we heard that it took a man to decree that his mother was not a person.” (“famou5”) . Although, in time, everything changed. A very important constitutional ruling established the right of women. This was called The Persons Case. The Persons Case played a very important role in women’s rights and how we got to where we are today. In 1893 the National Council of Women of Canada is founded. It works for social rights of women and children. The famous five was a group of five women who became famous for their efforts to fight for women’s rights. Emily Murphy, a member of the Famous Five said "We want women leaders today as never before. Leaders who are not afraid to be called names and who are willing to go out and fight. I think women can save civilization. Women are persons." (“Fashion and Women’s Liberation”) . Both of these groups played a significant role in the success of declaring women people. In 1957, equal pay legislation was passed in Alberta. This means that women were able to work and were granted the say pay as a men who did the same job. Although it does not seem like a big deal now, at the time this was one of the biggest moves forward in fighting for women 's rights. In 1987 systemic discrimination in the hiring of women was found to be unlawful, and more women than ever before were
One of the first Supreme Court Cases that have happened to obtained Women’s Rights was in 1971. In 1971, there was a Supreme Court Cases called Phillips V. Martin Marietta Corporation. In of this court case Phillips tried to apply for a job of being of a preschool teacher and was denied. Phillips wasn’t the only one who applied and didn’t receive the job, since 80% of the applicants were denied because the were all women. So, once has just Phillips found out that she was denied from a job, just by her gender she took it the authorities to show them what Martin Marietta Corp. was doing.
In addition to Emily Murphy, many women activist saw this act as a discrimination against all women, believing the purpose of a women’s life was as important as the purpose of a man’s life and therefore women should be able to make the best possible contribution to the generation in which they were living in and being labeled as a non-person by law would not allow that to happen. After the war efforts continued the domino effect of improving women’s status Emily Murphy, Canadian Women's Rights activist, enlisted four Canadian women brought together by shared beliefs and together the five women, fighting for women’s rights, brought forward the “The Persons Case” to change the 1928 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada’s ruling that women were not “persons” according to the British North American Act, and therefore were not able to be eligible for an appointment to the Senate. (James, 2001). These five Canadian women and their unrelenting campaign in the Persons Case led to one of the biggest improvements to women’s status in society. In 1929
As well, he was the first PM to include women in his cabinet. In addition, the Royal Commission on the Status of Women was a result of PM Pearson, which examined mistreatment and recommended many changes to improve human rights. In conjunction with social welfare developments, such as the Canadian Pension Plan, a monthly benefit received after retirement, and Universal healthcare, bolstering the availability of medical treatment. WWI and WWII launched Canada into the future in terms of rights and justice, shaping the foundation of Canada’s rights,
The recognition of women as equal to men has helped pave the way for other significant changed in regards to women’s rights. The ability for Canada to have an open-mind and change their conservative ways that men are superior is great for those who feel they are deprived of their rights. The achievement of the Famous Five provided a platform in politics that prevented discrimination of gender and improved the quality of life for all Canadian women to come. This victory symbolized the right of women to participate in all aspects of life, to dream big, and to realize their potential. Thanks to their courage, vision and determination they have changed the course of history for women and made it possible for women to have an active voice in this country.
The fight for women’s rights was not without good cause. Many saw the hypocrisies of allowing all men – even complete buffoons – the right to vote while educated ladies had no say on the ballot. Divorce laws prevent women from splitting from their spouse unless he agreed to do so. In addition, women could not own property or keep their own paychecks if they worked (see Document 1). These problems of hipocrasy were additionally highlighted when people began to see women doing the same exact work as men on farms and in other job areas (see Document 5).
The fact that women had to have a case in order to be considered a person and that they lost in the federal government is absolutely absurd. After Emily Murphy became the first female judge, women wanted Murphy to become the Senate yet were rejected by prime minister Robert Borden due to the fact that she was not qualified in the way that one must be considered a person to become a senate. Hence the persons case was formed for justice of the women who were restricted by the old British definition of persons; “Women are considered persons in matters of pains and penalties, but are not persons in matters of rights and privileges”. The case went to supreme court and was rejected yet the dedicated females took the case to Privy Council in Britain where the judgment of the supreme court was opposed and it was ruled that the word persons includes females. The women of Canada were finally considered persons after 12 long but worthwhile years of battling with the law on October 18, 1929.
Throughout the year’s female rights has not been a silent outcry, 5 brave females by the names of Emily Murphy, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Louise McKinney, Irene Parlby and Nellie McClung took it all the way. It was October 27, 1927 when these women challenged the Supreme Court of Canada and asked the famous question that would change the world, “Does the word ’persons’ in section 24 of the British North America Act, 1867 include female persons”. The main objective the 5 women wanted to achieve was to clarify if a woman counted as a “qualified person” under section 24 enabling a woman to be appointed to senate. The next year when the case was heard, the Supreme Court of Canada decided that a woman was not a “qualified person” under section 24
The period between 1920 and 1980 has long been considered as a politically dormant era for women in Canada. Canadians tested the promise of equality between the sexes, symbolised by federal and provincial women suffrage victories. Women hoped that the equality transformations would bring good times, a changed domestic economy, and overall, a fair deal for Canada. Until the 1800s, women worked in the home, and were only responsible for domestic duties (add citation). They were considered intellectually inferior to men, seen as major sources of temptation and evil, and were also considered naturally weaker than men.
In the early 1920’s, women were denied rights against voting, work, and equal pay. In the 1800’s, slavery was very prevalent in America. After many years of protest and opposition, women and blacks alike were granted equal rights. Throughout history, humans have fought and won equal rights
The women of this movement were fighting for something they believed they deserve. Because of the Seneca Falls Convention and the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolution, women were able to express their own opinions. The women’s rights movement led to many different events, impacted other countries, and created a new amendment. The feminist efforts in the mid 1800s were successful enough to allow women to take on occupations and educations they weren’t able to obtain
The Woman’s Suffrage Movement is known for having improved the quality of education for women, but this would not have been possible without the advantages they acquired during the Civil War. During the Civil War women needed to take jobs that were previously held only by men because of the level of education they required. Thus, women were required to have a better education in order to function well in these jobs while the men were at war. Since the jobs of men would undoubtedly be left for women in their absence, they had no other choice but teaching women these professions through a proper education. In addition to the Civil War, the Industrial Revolution was also part of the success for the Woman’s Suffrage Movement because women could operate machinery as easily as men, which meant more jobs were available to them.
Fortunately, due to the tireless work of decades of activist’s, laws have changed, amendments added to the constitution, and rights granted to those who were previously unjustly denied. One of these victories for women’s rights occurred when women were granted the right
I believe that despite all controversial views this event was a huge shift for social change and future breakthrough in this area. For the American feminist movement such impetus was the successful story of the suffrage movement during the First World War, including the adoption of the 19th Amendment. The history of women’s struggle for their rights is very long and sometimes seems endless. “The Age of Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries opened up job opportunities for women, released them from domestic confines and provided them with new social freedoms” (Repetto, 2010,
In today’s world, it seems to be that women have the same rights as men, but it wasn't always this way. The speech “Women’s Rights to Suffrage” by Susan B Anthony is the most compelling of all. Susan B Anthony persuades the audience that all women should have the same rights as men. It’s shown through the speech that the federal constitution says “we the people”, the government has no right to take away rights from just one gender, and that women are considered people as well. The fact that the constitution says “we the people” is a primary point in this speech.
We all know that women didn 't have as many rights as men, and they still don 't. Women can now do more than they used to, but they still aren 't equal with men. They have had to fight for so many things like the right to vote and to be equal to men. The 19th amendment, the one that gave women the right to vote, brought us a big step closer. The Equal Rights Movement also gave us the chance to have as many rights as men. Women have always stayed home, cleaned the house, and didn 't even get an education.