Feminist History Society

Fourteen young university students, murdered because they were women, are memorialized in this definitive account of the tragic day that forced a reckoning with violence against women in our culture. The victims of what became known as the "Montreal Massacre" are remembered, their lives cut short on December 6, 1989 when a man entered École Polytechnique and systematically shot every young woman he encountered. The killer was motivated by a misogyny whose roots go far beyond one man and one day. This book examines how December 6 precipitated an entire cultural shift in thinking around gender-based violence.

Born into privilege but expected to use her advantages for the good of others, Senator Nancy Ruth has led an uncommon, unconventional life. From her religious ministry to rewriting Canada's national anthem to make it gender-neutral, this outspoken, complicated woman has put her stamp on Canada's public life. Her generous feminist philanthropy allowed numerous women's organizations to flourish, and her talents for friendship and for controversy meant the work was serious but never dull. Like Nancy herself, this book is rich in surprises and contradictions about a remarkable woman who used her privilege to support social change and the battle to better women's lives.

In the spring of 1970, seventeen women set out from Vancouver in a big yellow convertible, a Volkswagen bus, and a pickup truck. They called it the Abortion Caravan. Three thousand miles later, they "occupied" the prime minister's front lawn in Ottawa, led a rally of 500 women on Parliament Hill, chained themselves to their chairs in the visitors' galleries, and shut down the House of Commons, the first and only time this had ever happened. The seventeen were a motley crew. They argued, they were loud, and they wouldn't take no for an answer. They pulled off a national campaign in an era when there was no social media, and with a budget that didn't stretch to long-distance phone calls. It changed their lives. And at a time when thousands of women in Canada were dying from back street abortions, it pulled women together across the country.

Details the innovative, courageous, and creative activism of the "second wave" women's health movement in Canada between 1960 and 2010. This activism (re)claimed women's bodies, created women-centered spaces and services, and challenged a medically dominated healthcare system. Feminists challenged diagnoses, treatments, laws, policies, and research, as well as the care women were offered the way they saw their bodies and themselves. Legions of women, and a few men, made changes ranging from abortion rights to preserving women's hospitals, to the legalization of midwifery to requiring gendered research. Changes that still resonate in the 21st century.

Elsie MacGill achieved many firsts in science and engineering at a time when women were considered to be inferior in the sciences. In 1923, at the age of nineteen, she became the first woman to attend engineering classes at the University of Toronto. She was the first woman in North America to hold a degree in aeronautical engineering and the first woman aircraft designer in the world. As chief engineer for the Canadian Car and Foundry Company she oversaw the production of the Hawker Hurricane, and designed a series of modifications to equip the plain for cold weather flying. Her Maple Leaf trainer may still be the only plane ever to be completely designed by a woman. And she did all this while suffering from polio. In this biography we learn that she supervised 4500 workers and produced about 1450 Hawker Hurricanes by the end of WWII. Elsie was a popular heroine of her time, inspiring the comic book "Queen of the Hurricanes" in the 1940s. In later life she became a powerful feminist activist, advocating for the rights of women and children.

Includes Susan G. Cole interviewing Gloria Steinem and writing by Margaret Atwood, Susan Crean, June Callwood, and Marian Engel. Broadside: A Feminist Review was a groundbreaking Canadian feminist newspaper published between 1979 and 1989. While Broadside paid attention to everything from feminists making art to street activism, it also covered the mainstream, from pop culture to peacemaking. The Broadside team uncovered the work of female artists and developed challenging and risky new ideas, all while participating in the day-to-day organizing of a grassroots movement. Broadside helped reinvent journalism to make room for a feminist voice. This collection looks at the impact of the newspaper on the lives of women. Through a selection of key articles, the book explores the issues and events, the conflicts and controversies, and the debates and discoveries of feminist theory and activism that formed the context and content of a decade of change.

Bertha Wilson and Claire L'Heureux-Dubé were the first women judges on the Supreme Court of Canada. Their 1980s judicial appointments delighted feminists and shocked the legal establishment. Polar opposites in background and temperament, the two faced many identical challenges. Constance Backhouse's compelling narrative explores the sexist roadblocks both women faced in education, law practice, and in the courts. She profiles their different ways of coping, their landmark decisions for women's rights, and their less stellar records on race. To explore the lives and careers of these two path-breaking women is to venture into a world of legal sexism from a past era. The question becomes, how much of that sexism has been relegated to the bins of history, and how much continues?

Marion Dewar could never ignore a person who was begging in the street. Along with money, she would offer words of encouragement and friendship. Perhaps it was her training as a nurse, her devout Catholic upbringing, or maybe it was simply because she was a genuinely compassionate woman. As mayor of Ottawa from 1978-1985, Marion Dewar worked tirelessly to bring about non-profit housing, better public transportation, support and encouragement for the arts, for peace, and for women's rights. She advocated for visible minorities, gays and lesbians, and was the driving force behind the initiative to bring 4,000 boat people to Ottawa from Vietnam and Southeast Asia. She was a prominent member of the New Democratic Party and sat as a Member of Parliament in 1987-1988 - all while raising four children. Accompanied by archival and personal photos, an intriguing look at a woman who took action when it counted most.

An eyewitness account of the revolution in women's rights under the law. Lawyer, activist, and former Chatelaine legal columnist Linda Silver Dranoff details her own trailblazing journey from a traditional 1950s childhood to the battlegrounds of the courts of law and the halls of power where she and a generation of women lawyers, supporting a larger feminist movement, championed the rights of Canadian women and families. Through a combination of memoir and social history, Dranoff brings to life the struggles around family law, pay and employment equity, violence against women, abortion rights, childcare, pension rights, political engagement, public policy, and access to legal justice. From backroom battles to public and private protest, the stories are inspiring. Fairly Equal reminds us of the importance of remaining vigilant about our rights. Knowing what Dranoff's generation of women lawyers and activists achieved, and how easily it can be taken away, we are encouraged in sisterhood and solidarity to ensure that the many hard-won gains of the feminist movement are maintained and expanded for the women who follow.

A collection of journalist Michele Landsberg's Toronto Star columns, where she was a regular columnist for more than twenty-five years between 1978 and 2005. Michele has chosen her favorite and most relevant columns, using them as a lens to reflect on the second wave of feminism and the issues facing women then and now. An icon of the feminist movement and a hero to many, through her writing and activism Michele played an important role in fighting for the rights of women, children, and the disenfranchised. Her insights are as powerful for the generation of women who experienced the second wave as for the rising tide of young feminists taking action today.

A collection of true stories from 54 racialized immigrant and refugee women create an eclectic mix of three generations of voices. Women in their 20s to those in their 70s provide snapshots that begin in the 1960s and go to the present. Together these vividly recounted entries capture historical and everyday moments that reveal striking similarities and differences. Resilience and Triumph provides readers with an eye-opening glimpse into 50 years of immigrant women's lives in Canada.

During the 1970s and 1980s, after the Royal Commission on the Status of Women made its far-reaching recommendations, the volunteer Ontario Committee on the Status of Women went head-to-head with the Ontario government of Premier William Davis to fully implement equality for women in Ontario. Areas of concern were in employment, pay and benefits, child care and reproduction rights, education and training, family law, pensions, politics, and the civil service, and human rights generally. Members of this committed organization tell the stories of how they came together, how they organized and lobbied for change, how they collaborated with other groups, how the issues changed, and what the work means for women in Ontario today.

Over the last 50 years, the struggles to achieve equity in sport have become central to the feminist mission. This book contains an inspiring collection of stories from the women on the front lines: athletes, coaches, educators, and activists for women's sport, who have done so much to foster change. Many of the women profiled here reflect on their tough beginnings in sport: being isolated and unconnected, competing in makeshift settings, training alone, and inadequate equipment. But they also reflect on the joy of movement, teamwork, and competition. These women grew to be remarkable role models and helped to dismantle sexism in sport. To read these stories is to swell with pride over their victories, to empathize with their battles with discrimination, and to become re-energized to confront collectively the many hurdles left to clear.

This engaging study of a still active women's organization is more than a centennial history to make its members proud. It also provides a lively exploration of a unique organization founded by early women leaders in higher education who offered friendship, community engagement, and lifelong learning. With a leadership of exceptional women, the organization played a largely overlooked role in the women's movement by supporting education and the arts, encouraging young women to pursue higher education and scholarships, and through its advocacy initiatives helped to build the Canadian nation.