Women's Rights In Canada Essay

Women today generally do not have to think about how hard the women in the past had to fight to provide them with all the rights they have today. Historically, they have been put into roles where they were expected to serve men, fathers, brothers, husbands, and children. Nevertheless as time went on women began to fight for equality as well as equal opportunities for both men and women. The women’s rights movement was established to work toward achieving equal rights for all genders. Women have fought for many centuries to gain rights and equality. In the second wave of feminism, women of Canada began to gain many of the rights that Canada has today. Women’s battle for equality positively impacted women's lives in Canada. Firstly, access to

After the Second World War, women went back to serving and helping their husbands. The amount of women in the workforce decreased and it was normalized for women to be ‘stay at home moms’. In the 1960’s, women began to join the workforce once again. The rights and employment opportunities that women had were very limited and women were paid much less than men. Women started to notice these injustices and demanded to receive the labour rights they deserved. In fact according to Jane Gaskell, "Women earned 52.8% of what men earned in 1911, 58% in 1971 and 66% in 1996” (Gaskell Nd). This statistic proved that women earned significantly less than men throughout history. Even after women fought for equal pay it was still not fully achieved. Women’s fight for equal pay has come a long way. Although Canada has still not achieved equal pay in all fields, Canada is the closest they have ever been to equal pay. If it was not for the women that fought tirelessly for their rights, Canada would probably still have a pay gap of great similarity to that of 1911. “The notion, which has not changed, that there is a male “breadwinner” to support every household reinforces the occupational segregation and low wages of women in the labour force” (Canadian Encyclopedia Nd). This quote states that the gender stereotypes that are embedded in society reinforce the inequalities in the labour force. This is true because it is assumed that men make the most money. Even today, women are often told that if they want to make money they should marry a rich man. But why can women not just make their own money? Women have worked so hard to get rid of these stereotypes and preconceived ideas of men and women. Now society sees more women making money and Canada is beginning to see the positive outcomes the women in the past worked so hard to achieve. Although popular believed stereotypes