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Heritage  MattersRead more articles about Women's heritage

Kathleen Blake Coleman “Kit"

Kit Coleman: Journalism pioneer

Kathleen Blake Coleman, known to her readers as “Kit,” stood out among Ontario’s women journalists of her day because of her …View Kit Coleman: Journalism pioneer

“Mayor Oliver: Wonder who told them we didn’t encourage the suffragette movement in Toronto?”, [photograph], ca. 1910, Newton McConnell fonds, C 301-0-0-0-996, Archives of Ontario.

Key dates and figures in the women’s rights movement in Ontario and Canada

1851: Women were officially excluded from voting in all Canadian legislative elections in British North …View Key dates and figures in the women’s rights movement in Ontario and Canada

Dr. Molly Shoichet (middle) at the University of Toronto, 2016. Photo courtesy of the author.

Shining a light

When I was young, my mother strongly encouraged me to pursue a career. She knew that for her generation, even after graduating …View Shining a light

Elizabeth Bagshaw (Photo courtesy of The Hamilton Spectator)

Elizabeth Bagshaw: Fighting for reproductive rights in Canada

When Dr. Elizabeth Bagshaw retired in 1976, she was the oldest physician practising in Canada. In her illustrious 70-year …View Elizabeth Bagshaw: Fighting for reproductive rights in Canada

Dominion Scientific Temperance Committee, Ephemera, 192-, English. Toronto Reference Library, Baldwin Collection (192-?, Temperance, Item 12.M). Photo courtesy of the Toronto Public Library.

Working for the greater good: Women’s voluntary organizations in the early 20th century

In 1911, women made up 13.5 per cent of the workforce in Canada. By 1951, that number had risen to 22 per cent. While few women …View Working for the greater good: Women’s voluntary organizations in the early 20th century

Doris McCarthy 1910-2010 (Photo: David Lee)

The cult of Doris

Living to 100 is only the latest feat in the life of the singular painter Doris McCarthy, who once cut off her finger for her …View The cult of Doris

Women’s March in Toronto in January 2018. Photo: Tanja Tiziana.

Practices and attitudes die slowly: Sexual assault legislation and activism in Canada

In 1967, during a decade of social change and revolution, the federal government launched the Royal Commission on the Status of …View Practices and attitudes die slowly: Sexual assault legislation and activism in Canada

F 2076-16-3-2/Unidentified woman and her son, [ca. 1900], Alvin D. McCurdy fonds, Archives of Ontario, I0027790.

We’ve always been here: Black women’s history of voting rights and politics in Canada

The history of Black women’s voting rights in Canada must be understood in the context of their evolving social status in the …View We’ve always been here: Black women’s history of voting rights and politics in Canada

Dr. Wesley-Esquimaux (left) with Elizabeth Penashue, who was born into an Innu hunting and trapping family that lived at Kanekuanikat, between Esker and Churchill Falls, Labrador. Penashue moved to Sheshatshiu in the 1960s when her family and her people were encouraged to relocate in order to integrate them into Canadian society through education and a more settled lifestyle. Photo courtesy of the author.

Suffrage and Indigenous women in Canada

What has it been like to grow up in a society only now beginning to take note and respect the contributions of Indigenous …View Suffrage and Indigenous women in Canada

Mary Fulford dressed for presentation to the court of Queen Victoria circa 1900

The women behind the estates

Across the fabric of Canadian society, a definitive shift occurred between the 19th and 20th centuries that began a …View The women behind the estates

Raheel Raza outside of the United Nations Office in Geneva

A Canadian Muslim woman reflects on 30 years in Canada

I am a Pakistani by birth, a Canadian by choice and Islam is my spiritual path. My family and I migrated to Canada 30 years ago …View A Canadian Muslim woman reflects on 30 years in Canada

Wyland, Francie. 1976. Motherhood, Lesbianism, Child Custody: The Case for Wages for Housework. Toronto: Wages Due Lesbians. Cover woodcut by Anne Quigley. CLGA collection, in monographs, folder M 1985-054].

Wages Due Lesbians

Wages Due Lesbians was a Toronto activist group (mid-1970s to early 1980s) affiliated with the international Wages for …View Wages Due Lesbians

Women from Fleck Manufacturing leading the 1979 International Women’s Day Parade in Toronto. Photo: Frank Rooney

Women in organized labour

Before the First World War (1914-18), women had few rights and they could not vote or hold public office. Policies were overtly …View Women in organized labour

The Honourable Jean Augustine.

From Happy Hill to Parliament Hill: An interview with trailblazer Jean Augustine

Among her many accolades, the Honourable Jean Augustine has the distinction of being Canada’s first Black female Member of …View From Happy Hill to Parliament Hill: An interview with trailblazer Jean Augustine

The Lieutenant Governor poses with Ontario delegates to the Daughters of the Vote conference and parliamentary simulation.

The journey of women’s empowerment

The year 2017 was, to say the least, one to remember, providing a …View The journey of women’s empowerment

Elsie Knott, Canada’s first elected woman chief

Canada’s first elected woman chief

Elsie Knott was born at her Curve Lake home on September 20, 1922 to George and Esther Taylor, the fifth of six siblings. …View Canada’s first elected woman chief

Members of the Voice of Women, Women’s Liberation Movement, New Feminists and Young Socialists demonstrated at Queen’s Park in April 1970, asking support for a bill to ensure that women get equal pay for equal work. (Photo: Dick Darrell/ Toronto Star via Getty Images).

Women’s rights are human rights – The fight for an equal voice

Did you know that women in Canada couldn’t vote in federal elections until 1918 – just 100 years ago? They could vote in some …View Women’s rights are human rights – The fight for an equal voice

Dr. Peters adjusting a patient for radiotherapy. Collection of Dr. Charles Hayter.

Vera Peters and the fight against breast cancer

Today, women with early breast cancer are usually treated with breast conserving therapy (removal of the cancerous lump …View Vera Peters and the fight against breast cancer

Wilma Morrison received a Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2007 from the Ontario Heritage Trust, presented by The Honourable Lincoln M. Alexander (left) and The Honourable David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.

Wilma Morrison: A life of activism

By now, many people in the heritage community and the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario are familiar with the woman who is …View Wilma Morrison: A life of activism

Doris McCarthy at Fool’s Paradise, May 2005 (Photo: David Lee)

Doris McCarthy’s Fool’s Paradise will inspire future generations of artists

With the passing of Doris McCarthy on November 25, 2010, the country lost a revered and talented artist, best known for her …View Doris McCarthy’s Fool’s Paradise will inspire future generations of artists

This 1958 provincial plaque unveiling to commemorate Catharine Parr Traill was attended by Mrs. Anne Atwood and Miss Anne Traill, the author’s granddaughters. Also in attendance (shown here second from left) was the then-editor of the Peterborough Examiner – Robertson Davies – who, in time, became a literary giant in his own right.

Literary giants

Catharine Parr Traill is one of Canada’s literary luminaries. Her life story spans most of the 19th century, crossing oceans, …View Literary giants