“I do not want to be the angel of any home; I want for myself what I want for other
women, absolute equality. After that is secured, then men and women can take turns at
being angels.”
– Agnes Macphail
The 20th century has been a period of rapid and far-reaching change for many women but
life for women in some parts of the world still remains harsh. Even where females have
experienced great advances like those in Canada, there are still some similarities between
their economic role today and the role of women in the 1900s. During the 19th and 20th
century, attempts were made to define and extend human rights but most of these struggles
ignored or denied the rights of more than half the human race women. It was unsurprising
that this is the case because at the time, Canada was a patriarchal society, a society in
which men have more power than women, readier access than women to what is valued in
the society, and, in consequence, are in control over many, if not most aspects of womens
lives. It wasnt until the womens movement that has touched the lives of most Canadian
women and has transformed the structure of their daily existence; it was this movement
that eliminated the fact that Canada was a patriarchal society and improved the economic
role of Canadian women. Since the 1960s women have undertaken a vigorous assault on
Canadas system of power and the nation now claims to be an equal society and emphasizes
significantly on equality amongst all but are we all actually equal? Has the glass-ceiling
effect been broken at last? That question still remains unclear but what will remain clear is
that once women take up positions where men are unwilling to work, distinguish
themselves independent from men in the labour force, and begin to set their desire of
exploration for their interest in politics, equilibrium between the two sexes will finally be
established.
The changing economic roles of women have improved little with regards to the average
earnings of women. The average earnings of employed women today are still considerably
lower than those of men despite the nations declaration that it is an equal country with
equal pay amongst all. In 1998, employed women had average earnings of just $23,900, a
figure that was only 64% that of all men with jobs. Even when employed on a full-time,
full-year basis, the earnings of women remain below those of their male counterparts. In
