World War I: Catalyst of Emancipation

To quote the Canadian Human Rights Commission, early twentieth century society saw women as “the weaker sex but the more virtuous one”, and thus saw them fit only for domestic chores and motherhood. This was reflected in the fact that by 1900 just 13 percent of women were employed with over half of those working as maids, governesses, or other domestic servants. However, as the First World War drained the male-dominated labour force, conscripting roughly one in two, leaving women at home was no longer an option. The public and private sectors began encouraging women to show their support for their men abroad by helping make their nation’s economy strong: the Department of Public Works legitimized this in publishing a list of areas suitable for women to work which included farming, cooking, and delivering rations. Complementing the government’s push for female labour in these disciplines, the National Council of Women pressed the government for the inclusion of women workers in an even wider range of areas such as naval shipyards.