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Stereotypes Of Women In Canada

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For centuries, women have been seen as lesser than men: the stereotype that females are the “weaker sex” barred them from opportunities to be seen as equal to men. Many believed that a woman should be relegated to domestic roles; jobs that were seen as too “soft” and feminine for a man to do. Women in Canada were not exempt from this expectation that the only job they should have was in the home. While this viewpoint is antiquated and restrictive towards women, it held merit in that women were the ones who stayed at home for generations while the men went out to work. However, the 20th century ushered in a new era for working women. Over the last century, women have proven their integral role in the Canadian workforce. Canadian women have …show more content…

The pains and dangers they have endured in our defence give them the right to expect it” (46). The arrival of the Great Depression in the 1930s did nothing to lessen this sentiment. Due to the lack of jobs as a result of the Depression, women’s jobs were not seen as a priority, in fact, in a reply to a letter written in 1936 to the National Employment Commission, the Commissioner wrote that “[Women] have a lot of rights in good times, when there is lots of employment,” in an attempt to justify the takeover of women’s jobs (87). Once again, women were being edged out of the workforce. Society ignored the contributions they made during the war and their worth as workers, instead impressing upon them the role of the homemaker that women were trying to move away from. During the 1940s women were sequestered into a role of submissiveness and domesticity, both at home and in the workplace. Post World War II Canada promoted the dream of domestic bliss to boost the economy. Women were expected to be stay-at-home mothers while the men were the breadwinners. The Canadian magazine ‘Chatelaine’ …show more content…

During the ‘50s and ‘60s, girls were encouraged and expected to marry and have a family. It was during this time period that women’s employment became of less importance to those wanting to recover and rebuild their lives after the war. An ad for International Sterling depicted the similarities between a graduation and a marriage for young women. The ad said, “ Somewhere there’ll be another June - another white dress, another aisle” (114). It is a reflection of the expectation for girls to finish school and get married. Another ad in ‘Seventeen’ magazine for hope chests has the pitch, “Some special occasion is surely coming up soon - your birthday, graduation, engagement perhaps…” (121) Despite the opinion of the majority being against women working, there were still those who fought for women’s rights, especially in the workforce. In 1967, the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada was established to attend to issues that concerned women, which included their problems regarding employment (145). The Commission’s recommendations included that “‘gender’ and ‘marital status’ be prohibited grounds for discrimination by employers”, that “two qualified women from each province be appointed to the Senate”, and that “the federal government name more women judges to all courts within their jurisdiction” (145). This invigoration for the women’s employment movement

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