Women’s Empowerment in Canada

In 1971, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau appointed the first person responsible for women’s issues after a recommendation from the Royal Commission on the Status of Women. Since 1970, there has been a team and a leader, initially set up in the Privy Council Office, until it became its own department in 1976.

Gender Equality

• The Married Women’s Property Act, which began in Ontario in 1884 and Manitoba in 1900, allowed married women to own property like men.
• This law enabled married women to make legal agreements and buy property, marking a big step toward fairness for women in Canada.
• The Famous Five, in 1928, asked the government if the word “persons” in the British North America Act, 1867, included women.
• The Supreme Court said no because of old court decisions, laws that kept women out of politics, and no clear mention of women in the Act.
• They asked a higher court, the Privy Council, which said yes in 1929, making women legally equal.
• This big change meant women could now have the same rights as men under the law.
• Cairine Reay Wilson became the first woman in the Senate in 1930, showing the real impact of this decision.
• Wilson’s role was a big deal for women’s rights in Canadian politics, opening doors for more equality.
• This decision marked a big moment in the fight for fairness and justice for women in Canada.
• These legal and court changes show Canada’s growing commitment to treating everyone equally, regardless of gender.

Voting Rights

• At the start of the 20th century, women couldn’t vote in provincial and federal elections in Canada.
• In 1916, women in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta gained the right to vote in provincial elections. British Columbia and Ontario followed suit in 1917.
• The War-time Elections Act of 1917 allowed women serving in the military and those with family fighting in World War I to vote. By 1918, all white women could vote in federal elections.
• Despite federal changes, many provinces still limited women’s voting rights in provincial elections. Also, some minority groups were denied the vote.
• Quebec was the last province to give women voting rights in provincial elections, doing so in 1940. The Northwest Territories did the same in 1951.
• Starting in 1947, voting rights expanded to some minority groups, with all Canadians gaining the right to vote in 1960, including Aboriginal men and women.
• The gradual widening of voting rights in the 20th century marked significant progress towards fairer and more inclusive democracy in Canada.
• These legal changes reflected changing social attitudes and growing acknowledgment of the importance of equal political participation for everyone.
• Despite these advances, challenges remained in achieving full electoral equality and addressing barriers to political involvement for marginalized groups.
• The journey toward universal suffrage in Canada highlights the ongoing struggle for fairness and the continuous need for advocacy and activism to ensure equal rights for all citizens.

Labour Rights

• One of the earliest big steps towards fairness between women and men at work happened when Ontario passed the Fair Employment Practices Act and the Female Employees Fair Remuneration Act in 1951.
• The Fair Employment Practices Act aimed to stop unfair treatment by introducing fines and setting up a system for reporting discrimination.
• At the same time, the Female Employees Fair Remuneration Act aimed to ensure that women were paid equally for the same work, addressing the pay gap between genders.
• Other provinces and territories in Canada quickly followed Ontario’s lead by making similar laws to promote fairness at work.
• Nationally, Canada introduced the Canada Fair Employment Practices Act of 1953, focusing on fairness in the government workforce.
• The Female Employees Equal Pay Act of 1956 further strengthened efforts to stop unfair pay based on gender, making it illegal.
• Additionally, the Employment Equity Act of 1986, applying to businesses under federal regulations, required them to find and remove barriers that stopped equal job opportunities.
• These laws, both at the provincial and national levels, were important in making progress towards fairness between genders in the Canadian workplace.
• They set examples for promoting equality and diversity in employment practices across different areas of Canada.
• Together, these actions aimed to create a fairer and more inclusive workplace, offering more opportunities for women and supporting equality between genders in jobs.

Supporting The Rights of Women and Girls

• Canada supports global efforts for women and girls’ empowerment through our international programs.
• Canada advocated for gender equality in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
• We were early signatories of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
• In 1993, Canada contributed to the Vienna Declaration, affirming “women’s rights are human rights” and urging their integration into all UN activities.
• We support resolutions to end violence against women and girls, including harmful practices like ‘honour’ crimes and female genital mutilation.
• Canada played a role in ensuring sexual and gender-based crimes were addressed in the draft Statute for the International Criminal Court.
• Our efforts contributed to the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women and the mandate for a UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women.
• Canada launched an Action Plan in October 2010 to implement UN Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace, and Security.

Canada has the highest rate of women’s labor force participation in the world with 61.3% women. Half of the students who went to college are women. 75% of women who work for themselves love their job. Only around a quarter of women are in charge as managers or leaders. Canada is in 18th place globally for how many women are in parliament, with almost 30% of the seats in the House of Commons held by women in 2023.

Immigrant women had 11.6% of seats in the House of Commons, which is a bit more than Canadian-born women. In a recent study, 69 Canadian companies found that women make up about 45% of all new employees, but only 25% hold the position of vice president and 15% of CEOs. According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), almost all adult women in Canada will be literate in 2022.