Agnes Macphail

Miss Macphail is the first female parliament member in Canada's history. The scrapbook clearly detailed Miss Macphail’s speech before the Business-Professional Women Club. Miss Macphail clearly stated her regret about the gender inequality that disproportionately affects women. She pointed out that women are still ostracized mainly in society. Furthermore, women had less pay than men, but they contributed more; they not only worked in the factory but also had to do the housework and care for the kids. Although they played a more significant role in family life, the property will be willed to the son, not the daughter. She also mentioned a call in that period asking women to go home, which is absurd. She underlined that women are necessary for industries like textile and clothing or bakery. This also serves as an excellent historical source for researching feminism in the industrialized era, including where women work and how they are essential. She also emphasized that women should receive equal job opportunities to men and should be allowed the freedom to develop their own lives instead of being defined by society. From my point of view, this speech is very progressive now and then since women face similar issues. 

For more information about Macphail and Women in Politics in Ottawa, click here.

The information is collected and condensed by Chenxuan Fu