Agnes Macphail: The Struggle For Women's Equality

Over several decades, Canadian women have greatly exceeded and made several advancement in earning women’s equality. Agnes MacPhail was a strong determined woman. At a young age, Macphail disliked housework and preferred helping her father with the farm livestock. She had longed for a life outside the farm work and hoped to attend school. However, Agnes’ family was in dire need for help to support the farm. She took action and never lost hope as she pleaded for two years for her parent's approval to go to school. With persistence and hope she gained their permission to start an education. Several women have shown phenomenal strength and conquered challenges to achieve equality. Women lived in a male-dominated society; however after 1914, Canadian

women’s strong actions has successfully given them access to politics, led them to be treated equally as men and have opened themselves to countless new opportunities.
Women in early 19th century were unable to vote, get a chance to speak or enter politics. Women’s suffrages came into place to protest and campaign for the advancement of women in politics and equal rights legislation. Numerous suffrages used fierce, compulsive words and the actions to invoke women into entering politics as “the first women appointed to serve in the Senate of Canada was Cairine Wilson, in 1930” (Milestones par. 5). Over the past decade the presence of women as members of the parliament advanced in numbers. As a result, in 1984, 27 seats were held by women and in the following year this number rose, allowing for 39 to be detained by Canadian women (Cool par. 5). In 1957, Ellen Fairclough, was Canada’s first female cabinet minister. She was known for eliminating racial discrimination in Canada’s immigration policy (Milestone par. 6). Fairclough’s decisions in the elimination of racial discrimination helped reduce racism towards both women and men. In hence proving women’s participation in politics greatly helped in earning rights and freedom as they were able to register their opinions and furthermore have a broader range of occupations.
The dominant actions of Canadian women have proven how they have strived to be respected as human beings. The word ‘person’ was legally understood to refer to only men. Five Alberta women called the “Famous Five” created a petition to the Supreme Court of Canada requesting for further clarification as to whether the the term female fell under the word “people,” but the petition was turned down. The Famous Five did not lose hope as they went straight to the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council to appeal their case and which later confirmed Canadian women are indeed included in the definition of “persons”.
Intoned the British Lord Chancellor, that the word persons included members of the male and female sex, and that therefore… women are eligible to be summoned and become members of the Senate of Canada. (Gray 154).

The Famous Five’s willpower enabled all women across Canada in being acknowledged as a person. Women were submissive to their husband’s regulations completing household tasks. Men believed women were to weak to do outdoor tasks; thus limiting jobs for female gender. Canada entered World War II with high unemployment rate of male soldiers and required more support from women.
Recruiting for the military was a sensitive issue in light of the conscription of World War One, and at first only volunteers went overseas. Again, the pressures of war aided the movement of women into the armed services and this time in a range of occupations in addition to nursing. Many women were decorated for their services, and 71 women were killed during their service. (Marsden 76).

The Canadian women have been portrayed as courageous women as they sacrificed their lives to help the war effort. Above all, they were capable of carrying out the jobs men did physically, granted they are people and should be considered equal to men. However, discrimination is still seen in Canadian societies today; women’s fight for equality have made new laws and changes in decreasing discrimination towards female gender. Married women in early 19th century were constantly abused by their husbands. “The Canadian Human Rights Act was passed by the Parliament of Canada in 1977. Deals with discrimination based on race, colour, religion, age, sex, and family status. Applies to all provinces ensuring both genders are treated equally and to make discrimination disappear.” (“Women’s” par.34). The laws enforced by this act were applied to not only men but women as well. The act assured women across Canada were safe as they were acknowledged as being people and should be treated like one. Women were recognized to be their own person and no one’s property making them just as important as men. Hence, women’s curial effort in winning over the “persons case,” reducing discrimination as well as their hard leadership and work ethics in helping men through home front and war effort puts men to treat women with equality.
Women’s relentless fighting for equality opened them up to new opportunities.

In the early 19th century women were unable to vote. In order to ensure the votes for the forthcoming election, Robert Borden passed the Wartime Elections Act and the Military Voters Act. “Women got the federal vote in three stages: the Military Voters Act of 1917 allowed nurses and women in the armed services to vote; the Wartime Election Act extended the vote to women who had husbands, sons or fathers serving overseas; and all women over 21 were allowed to vote as of January 1, 1919.” (“Recruitment” par. 3). It was a new opportunites for women as it was the first time women across Canada were allowed voting rights and a chance to have their voices heard. In the early 19th century, women were not permitted to participate or watch the olympic events for it was unacceptable for married women to watch naked male athletes. Athletes required long hours of training and at the time women did not have the leisure times to get trained. Gradually in decades later, women had their own sporting events such as the Hera Games and finally were able to participate in Olympics. Seven Canadian women participated in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics: one swimmer as well as six sprinters who were dubbed the “The Matchless Six.” They were Bobbie Rosenfeld, Jean Thompson, Ethel Smith, Mrytle Cook, Ethel Catherwood, and Florence Bell (“Women” par.6). Throughout history men and boys were granted rights to attain an education whereas only a minor number of girls attended school while the rest were to stay at home completing household tasks. In early 1850’s, University of McGill’s principal reported his regret for not opening doors to women students but as decades progressed women started to attend school. By 1917 women outnumbered men in the Faculty of Arts of McGill University (“McGill” par. 9).These new opportunities such as access to voting, participating in the Olympics and receiving education were only few of the

several frontiers women were able to attain over the past century, providing them with much more success in their goals to achieve equal rights.
In conclusion, women have successfully gained equality as they have become able to express their ideas through politics, women suffrages worked hard to improve women’s life condition and have helped bring wider range of opportunities to the female gender. The hard challenges and obstacles earned Agnes MacPhail praise in becoming the first women elected into the House of Commons. She was criticized by journalists who opposed her but she kept going and used her performance as a member of the parliament positively. She has aided in giving rights to women along with other groups including immigrants. Women’s voices were finally heard and women were given the due rights and respect which they have always deserved.