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On October 18, Canada commemorates Persons Day. As trade unionists, we recognize this day with the understanding that the fight for gender equity is fundamental to ensuring justice for all workers. Today we celebrate the historic victories of women activists – including countless union members – whose legacy is the foundation upon which we continue to build our successes today.
On this day, in 1929, Canada’s highest court of appeal handed down the decision to include women in the legal definition of “persons” and permitted some women to be appointed to the Senate of Canada and to more fully participate in public life. Persons Day was both the culmination of years of activism, and the start of many more years of work to ensure it was expanded and strengthened to include all women. Indigenous Women and Women of Asian heritage and descent remained excluded from this legal personhood for many more years.
Our history is full of obvious discrimination toward Indigenous women and Women of Colour. Canadian women were granted the right to vote in federal elections in 1918, but First Nations women could only vote at that time if they gave up their status and treaty rights. They would not gain the full right to vote federally until July 1960. These 40-plus years of exclusion reminds us that our work as trade unionists and feminists must be intersectional and focus on eliminating the additional barriers faced by Indigenous women, Women of Colour, 2SLGBTQIA+, and women with disabilities.
As we make strides toward equality in the courts, in public policy and in workplaces, we must reach back to help each other climb.
Unifor has a proud history of advancing women’s rights and fighting for workplace improvements and pushing provincial and federal governments to grant those same rights for all women. Our union’s ground-breaking and internationally-acclaimed Women’s Advocate Program plays a key role in changing workplace dynamics, educating workers about the challenges women face, and providing resources to support women through unfair treatment in the workplace, discrimination or harassment.
As we mark Women’s History Month in Canada, we are reminded that gains toward equality are fragile and need vigilance to continually protect and enshrine them into the fabric of our union and country.
Together, we can make history and create a brighter, more equal future.
