Women in 1920s Canada

Key Events 1917 – Some women receive right to vote (Suffrage) Had to have a relative (Father, Brother, Husband) who was a soldier 1921 – First election where ALL women could vote, Agnes Macphail elected 1929 – “Person’s Case” 1931 – Cairine Wilson appointed first female Senator in Canada

Arguments against giving Women the Right to Vote Politics is too corrupt for women Allowing women to vote will cause arguments in the home Women will vote the same way as their husbands It is not “womanly” to express political opinions Women are too emotional to vote

Agnes Macphail First woman elected to the House of Commons, 1921 Fought for Senior’s pensions and worker’s rights Also worked at reforming the corrections system in Canada

Fashions Up until this point, women’s clothing had been very conservative. Some women (mostly young women) began to rebel against old ideas of how they should behave

Wore radical new dresses, which came down to just below their knees. cut their hair in “bobs” or “shingles”.

Flappers - The term “flapper” in the 1920s was used to describe bold young women who dressed and acted in an unconventional manner

Attitudes Many of these “flappers” were also challenging gender stereotypes by going to jazz clubs, smoking, and drinking alcohol.

Divorce Laws At the beginning of the 20s, men had the right to divorce if their wives had an affair. Women, on the other hand, could not divorce their husband no matter how many affairs he had. Women also surrendered all their property rights to their husbands when they got married Many widows were not provided for in their husband’s will

In 1925 this law was changed so that women could also ask for divorce in the case of adultery. In 1930, women would also gain the right to divorce if their husband had abandoned them for over 2 years.

Birth Control Forget it! Birth Control was illegal, as was the selling, advertising or publication of any medicine, drug, or article intended to aid in preventing conception or causing an abortion. Women like Nellie McClung begin to draw attention to this issue, but it would go unresolved for a long time.

Rules for a Female Schoolteacher You cannot get married or keep company with men. You must be at home between 8 pm and 6 am unless at a school function You cannot loiter downtown in ice cream parlours You cannot smoke or drink any alcohol You cannot ride in any carriage or automobile with any man except your brothers or father You cannot dress in bright colours or wear dresses more than 2 inches above the ankle

The Famous Five Louise McKinney Emily Murphy Nellie McClung Irene Parlby Henrietta Muir Edwards

The Persons Case: The Famous Five were fighting for the right for women to sit in the Canadian Senate While women now had the vote, they were still not legally deemed “persons” and therefore could not sit on the Senate The Famous Five sent a petition to Ottawa asking if the word “persons” in the laws included female persons in 1927

The Supreme Court decided that, in fact, under Canadian law, women were not persons. The Five appealed this decision to the Privy Council in London, supported by William Lyon Mackenzie King The London Court agreed with the Five and ruled that women were included in the term “persons” 1929.

Cairine Wilson: The first female Senator. (Elected 1931)