Awareness
Never underestimate the power of a woman.
Not so long ago, tens of thousands of Canadian women trusted in their power and demanded equal rights with men. They initiated the women’s suffrage movement, eventually granting white women the right to vote in federal elections in 1918. By 1960, the movement had achieved full suffrage for all women across Canada.
Among our neighbours to the south, American women also achieved suffrage at the turn of the century. On August 26, 1920, the United States adopted the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, prohibits the denial of citizens’ right to vote based on sex. In 1973, Congress officially recognised August 26th as Women’s Equality Day. Canada has also adopted this day in solidarity.
The path towards gender equality in Canada was paved by incredible women and their belief in their own inherent power. For this year’s Women’s Equality Day, let’s put a spotlight on some of those women – of the past and of the present – who have spent their lives making women’s existence in Canada one of agency, assertiveness, and self-actualisation.
Emma Baker
Born in 1856 in Milton, Ontario, Emma Sophia Baker countered the gender expectations of her time both in her personal and her professional life. Instead of marrying and having children, she chose to devote her life to learning and teaching. In 1903, at the age of 47 years old, she became one of the first two women to be awarded a PhD from the University of Toronto. From 1914 until her retirement, she was the chair in Psychology, Ethics, and Economics at the Maryland College for Women in Lutherville, Maryland. Having accomplished things that many women of her time were prevented from, Emma Sophia Baker died at the age of 87 and was buried in London, Ontario.
Mary-Woo Sims
Being a woman in a patriarchal society can be hard. Being a queer woman in a patriarchal society can be even harder. Where sexism and homophobia intersect lie issues that are unique to queer women, like the forced heterosexual marriages of many queer women around the world. Not only are their rights at risk on the grounds of their sex, but they are also at risk on the grounds of their sexuality. It is a volatile form of double oppression.
Hong-Kong-born social activist, and out-and-proud lesbian, Mary-Woo Sims moved to Canada as a student in 1970 and has since devoted her life to promoting the rights of women and gender, sexuality, and relationship diverse (GSRD) communities. In the 70s she became a founding member of the Women Against Violence Against Women Rape Crisis Centre in Vancouver, and helped write policies on anti-sexual harassment. Sims was also co-chair of the Campaign for Equal Families, which fought for the legal recognition of lesbian and gay partnerships/families in Ontario. Currently she is retired from politics but is writing her first book.
Makeda Silvera
Born in Jamaica in 1955, Makeda Silvera is a Canadian novelist, activist, and out lesbian. Throughout her life, she has made important contributions to the lives of queer women of colour, as well to the world of literature. As a writer, she edited Piece of My Heart (1991), the first North American anthology of literature by lesbian women of colour. As an activist, she founded the 101 Dewson Street Collective in 1983, a hub for Black GSRD activist groups fighting against racism, homophobia, and heterosexism. Makeda Silvera’s countless other achievements continue to illustrate the inherent connection between literature and social activism, especially for lesbian women of colour.
Karah Mathiason & Diane Grant
According to a 2019 national survey by Trans PULSE Canada, 3 in 5 trans women experienced intimate partner violence since the age of 16. Often overlooked, trans women in Canada continue to experience yet another form of double oppression, facing violence, barriers, and social exclusion due to both sexism and cisnormativity.
Wanting to promote trans women’s rights in some way, Toronto-based couple Karah Mathiason and Diane Grant – who both identify as trans lesbians – decided to organise a Trans March. On June 18th of 2009, over 100 people attended the Trans March through downtown Toronto, despite not being officially endorsed by Pride Toronto.
The actions of Karah Mathiason and Diane Grant provided Canadian trans women (and men) an opportunity to assert themselves, to take up space in a world from which they are often excluded. The Toronto Trans March is now held every year and lends visibility to a growing number of trans people. This year’s Trans March on June 23rd alone brought thousands to Downtown Toronto to participate.
Mary Simon
Mary Jeannie May Simon, born in 1947, is a Canadian civil servant and diplomat, best known for becoming the first Indigenous woman to hold the position of governor general of Canada in 2021. She was raised in a traditional Inuit lifestyle and brings her culture to her work. For instance, she has stated that the concept of ajuinnata, an Inuktitut word encompassing a vow to never give up and a commitment to action, is what inspired her to get involved as a civil servant to improve the lives of Inuit in Canada. Moreover, Simon was an instrumental actor in the establishment of the 1992 Charlottetown Accord. Among other things, the Accord gave constitutional recognition to Métis rights, and finally granted Aboriginals the right to self-govern.
There is no limit to the power of women, and to the things they can accomplish, once they put the wheels in motion. Despite the odds stacked heavily against them, so many women in Canada – assertive, agentic, and self-actualising – have succeeded at bettering society for all types of women, straight and queer, white and non-white alike. There is a lot of work still to be done for women’s rights; but the Emma Bakers, Mary-Woo Sims, and Mary Simons of the world bring us ever closer to gender equality.
Happy Women’s Equality Day!
Written by: Serena Celeste Romanelli
