SOCI 345 WOMEN AND WORK IN
CANADA ASSIGNMENT (Essay) ATHABASCA UNIVERSITY

CANADIAN WOMEN EMANCIPATION THROUGH WORK
Canadian women went a long way in achieving independence and a degree of equity there
currently is in Canadian workplace. It wasn’t an easy process and it’s not completed yet. In this essay I
willdiscuss the evolution of Canadian women involvement in the workplace; address the reasons for
women’s emancipation, events and conditions leading to women’s awakening and organizing to
achieve a higher degree of independence, as well as the challenges, and the role of social policy in
Canadian women’s efforts to be perceived as equal members of the society contributing to its growth
and prosperity, and promoting the equity values. The goal of this essay is to answer the question if
paid work has given Canadian women a fair chance to emancipate.
Historically, women’s work domain was inside the house. That was usually an unpaid
“invisible” work that was rarely recognized. Women’s work in their private household was viewed as
less important than men’s paid work outside the house. Even women did not see their own work at
home as important, inother words, work that was done by women to support the family and, many
times, to support their husbands’ business was devalued by all members of the society. Until the 19th
century Canadian women were devalued as the members of the society in general, they were not
allowed to vote or own property (Canadian History of Women’s Rights), some legal restrictions were
also imposed on the outside work of married women. These restrictions caused in alienating women
from paid work, or paying women significantly less than men for their work outside the house, often
women were paid 60% of men’s pay. In 18th century most women working for pay outside their
homes were unmarried (Wilson, 1996). In Dairying industry women were the main driving force of
income generation, and women workers were hired to help farmers’ wives. However, women’s work
in dairying was still considered a domestic/private work (Cohen, 1988).
While women’s role as a valid source of workforce was downplayed, and the focus was on
man’s ability to keep their wives dependent by providing to the family, women played an important
role in theirfamilies’ economy (Bradbury, 1993). In the 18th century, due to the existing restrictions,
not all women