Participants from around the world gathered for the United Nations 65th Conference on The Status of Women, taking part in numerous sessions, with a great number looking at the impact of COVID-19 on women, youth and women of colour. Much attention has been given to the experiences of women in the public sector given large numbers of women in sectors like education and healthcare, but the experiences of women in
Educational reformer and founder of the Women’s Institute. Adelaide Hoodless began her public life with the death of her infant son, who had consumed tainted milk. The tragedy inspired her to set about making sure that more women were educated in matters of domestic science, and she began pushing for home economics courses to be taught in Ontario public schools. She was also a powerful force behind the formation of
Novelist, reformer, journalist, and suffragist. Nellie McClung was a leader in the fight to enfranchise North American women. Her efforts led to Manitoba becoming the first province to grant women the right to vote in 1916, followed by Alberta and Saskatchewan. After a move from Manitoba to Alberta, she was elected to the Alberta Assembly as a Liberal member for Edmonton in 1921. In the legislature, McClung often worked with
Greetings, Thank you for your assistance in promoting the national survey on workplace violence and harassment to your members. The survey will close next month so we are asking for a final push to ensure that as many workers as possible fill it out. We especially need responses from Quebecois workers and workers in federally regulated industries. It is open to workers of all genders. Like the groundbreaking Domestic Violence at Work
Heather Kelley accomplished many firsts in her long and storied career as an IAM member, none the least of which is that was was the first female Grand Lodge Representative (GLR) in Canada. Heather became a member on February 1, 1979, after starting work at Fleet Industries in Fort Erie. Heather worked her way up from the ranks as a member of IAM Local 171 in Fort Erie. Her activism
By Shelley Cermak and Laura Sharpe, IAM Local 764 Noreen Olive Schmitt was first a partner, mother, grandmother, a sister – and to many of us in the union family, a mentor! Kind, gentle, caring, empathetic and very sharing of her struggles and she wanted more for us young ones coming up the ranks. She spent countless hours with her union & community, teaching and passing on her knowledge. She
Union organizer and social activist. Late in life, Madeleine Parent was recognized her indefatigable activism on behalf of workers, women, and minorities. But in her younger years she was marked as a dangerous woman and a “seditious” traitor. In the 1940s, Parent organized workers in the massive textile factories of Quebec. She was convicted — and later acquitted — of seditious conspiracy. From the 1950s to the 1970s, she led
Ivana Saula Research Director Six months ago, talks between the federal government and airline companies began over financial aid for air transportation. As soon as the impact of COVID-19 was evident, the IAM began a continuous lobbying effort for assistance for aviation and air transportation. Also, over the last year, one by one, governments around the world announced aid specifically for the airlines. In Canada, we’re still waiting. A recent
Kwakwaka’wakw leader, cultural mediator, and activist. Born on Vancouver Island, Ga’axstal’as, Jane Constance Cook was the daughter of a Kwakwaka’wakw noblewoman and a white fur trader. Raised by a missionary couple, she had strong literacy skills and developed a good understanding of both cultures and legal systems. As the grip of colonialism tightened around West Coast nations, Cook lobbied for First Nations to retain rights of access to land and resources.
Activist, radio host, and politial leader. Despite being brought up in wealth and privilege, Thérèse Casgrain felt that life should be fair to everyone. She helped to found the Provincial Franchise Committee for Women’s Suffrage in 1921 and later hosted a prominent radio program, called Fémina, for Radio-Canada. She became the first female leader of a political party in Canada — the left-leaning Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) — in the 1940s.
