The twentieth century saw Canada and many other nations in the world embrace industrial expansion. It is at this time that everyone seemed to prosper in regard to taking advantage of what was happening in the world at the time save for the Canadian worker. This is therefore what gave birth to the labor movements that spanned the world and Canada was not left behind. Not that there were no unions, they were there but they left much to be desired by the common laborer. Women were not left behind in the quest for better wages and living standards and therefore came out as a voice to reckon with in the fight for a better Canada (Kumar & Schenk 2006).
Women at the time also fought for appropriate compensation for work done at home. This highlighted the acknowledgement of any kind of work done at home as contributing to the economy. This then led to the fact that house hold chores were recognized as a major contributor to the well being of families. Housework was therefore recognized in the Canadian Labor laws, this led to the recognition of women as pension earners through it and in case of divorce proceedings, and women are also recognized regardless of them contributing informally to the marriage (Heron & Storey 1986).
When paid labor force is looked at critically, it is evident that there is a huge concentration of women in some gender aligned jobs. For instance, there is a bigger percentage of women employees in the education, health and clerical sector. This is an ideology that has been created by society since time immemorial. In the labor movement, women have come out strongly to criticize this scenario prompting them to raise alarm in regard to gender equity in every sector of the economy. Male defined positions have been infiltrated by a few women here and there creating a picture of women becoming aware of how useful they can be when doing any kind of job. As a result of this, job positions these days are shared almost in equal measure and women no longer feel left out or segregated.
The labor movement continues to fight for the rights of both men and women in the work force. Women’s roles in this cannot be ignored whatsoever because they continuously create awareness of what they feel should be done and how it should be done in for the good of all Canadians (Foley & Baker 2009). New issues come up because of the changing times and just like women in the 1960s, today, women are very conscious of everything that affects them in regard to labor. Social justice is the ultimate and women are not willing to stop at anything until all their emerging issues and those that have been there have been addressed.
References
Foley, J. R. & Baker, L. P. (2009). Unions, Equity and the Path to Renewal. Vancouver: UBC
Heron, C. (1996). The Canadian Labor Movement: A Short History. 3rd Ed. Halifax: Lorimer & amp
Heron, C. & Storey, H. R. (1986). On the job: Confronting the Labor process in Canada. Quebec: MQUP.
Kumar, P. & Schenk, C. R. (2006). Paths to Union Renewal: Canadian Experiences. Toronto: University of Torornto.
Morton, D. (1998). Working People. 4th Ed. Quebec: MQUP
