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Roaring Twenties

Women in the 1920s
Politics and Regional Protests
Foreign Investment
Canada's Growing Autonomy
Canadian Culture
20 Questions for the Twenties
Interesting facts
Veterans and Social Support
Fads, Fashions, & American Influences
Women in the 1920s
Economic Development Of Canada
Post-War Problems
Aboriginal Political Movements
Twenties Talk
Labour Unrest
Important People

what were conditions like for Women in the 1920s, what did women accomplish?

-Although Women had won the right to vote during the war, few women were elected to the house of commons or to the provincial governments.
-Women were mainly seen as homemakers.
-If women worked they worked until they were married.

1921- Agnes Macphail became first female Member of Parliament.


-Nellie McClung won a seat in Alberta in 1921 and was the 3rd woman to sit in the province’s legislature.


1927- Emily Carr was known as a painter of first rank.


-Mazo de la Roche- very successful writing career.


-Edmonton Grads- best woman’s basketball team in the world, turning back all challengers year after year.


1928- Olympic games-great female athletes like Ethel Catherwood and Bobby Rosenfeld won gold medals for Canada.


-Canada in the 1920s remained very much dominated by men, and women were denied all sorts of rights and privileges.


-Men had all sorts of organizations- ex. Kiwanis and lay organizations of church where woman were allowed to participate only in limited ways.


-They held traditional jobs such as domestic servants,secretaries,salesclerks,or factory workers,nurses and teachers.


-Women doctors and lawyers were admitted to practice rather grudgingly.


-No man in his right mind would put himself under a scalpel wielded by a woman nor put his personal and business affairs in the hands of a lady lawyer.


- Women drinkers were unthinkable.


- Even if women did manage to break through sexist barriers, they often found themselves forced to adapt to working conditions designed by and for men-ex. No woman’s washrooms.


- More and more woman were being employed  as sales help in stores, as filing clerks, and stenographers in business offices and as factory workers because they could perform such duties as well as men at much lower wages.


-They earned just over $8 a week (55hrs)


-They gained 54%-60% of what men did.


-A woman’s real place, it was universally agreed, was in the home.


-Women fought for their rights through campaigns, and by groups of intellectually tough dedicated woman who met regularly to compose letters to the government and study the BNA clause by clause.


-They organized protests.


-One of these groups was the “famous five”.


-the flapper era was another kind of declaration of independence.

-Many employers discriminated against women minority groups on employment issues.
-Japenese and chinese women were banned from entering Canadian colleges,universities, and hospitals.

The person's case
People involved: "Famous Five"- Nelly Mcclung, Irene Parlby, Henrietta Edwards, Judge , Louise McKinney, Judege Emily Murphy.
In 1916-Emily Murphy was made the first woman judge of  the British Empire and was appointed to the court of Alberta.
- A lawyer in court challenged her right to judge any case because she was a woman.
-He said thast no woman was a "person" in the eyes of the law.
-Emily was supported by the supreme court of Alberta and they agreed that woman had every right to be a judge.
-Over the year's woman asked the Prime Minister to appoint women into the senate.
-The BNA act stated that qualified persons could recieve appointment.
-The question was raised again.
-The "famous five" petitioned the prime minister and asked "Does the word 'persons' in section 24 of the BNA act include female 'persons'?"
-In April 1928 the supreme court decided that women were not "persons" qualified for appointment to senate.
-The appealed their case to the privy council and they declared that the word "pesons" referred to men and woman.
-They had won their fight : Women were qualified to sit in the senate of Canada.
-2 years later, Cairine Wilson was the first woman to be named to a senate seat .

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