Summary: The Civilian Conservation Corps

This poster, promoting the The Civilian Conservation Corps, demonstrates the patriarchal views of Canadian society during this time period. Its targeting of the male population, while completely dismissing the female public is evidence of the lack of job roles for women during the 1930’s. The art, depicting a young man holding an axe indicates the great value placed upon unskilled manual labour by the government. This poster is an example of bias in the way that it fails to mention the negative aspects of the job; fighting fires and working in flood control, two major aspects of the job, are both serious safety hazards. Furthermore, the poster fails to mention the sacrifices involved in this opportunity. The stable shelter in which these men resided in would be replaced with a compact tent as they would be forced to leave their family behind. Additionally, there is no indication regarding the exact pay (thirty dollars per month), possibly because it would be underwhelming and discouraging for most. Present Canadian society has strayed from its patriarchal views, therefore one may take offence to this poster as it is completely ignoring a woman’s potential to thrive in a workplace environment. The demand for unskilled labour has decreased, while skilled jobs have seen drastic increases as they tend to include better pay, ergo, one may be more inclined to take a job in a different career sector. The artist’s intention may have been to convey a feeling of happiness and satisfaction due to the individual’s large smile. This is done in in an attempt tomake the reader feel more at ease in regards to applying for this opportunity. In a time period (the Great Depression) where desperation was not uncommon, and income, be it little or large, was desired, this poster met the criteria for many men who were in search for work and was therefore, successful in achieving its intended purpose. This picture promotes The Works Progress Administration, …show more content…
This poster conveys the popular belief at the time, that a woman’s primary role is in the household. The purpose of The Works Progress Administration was to employ millions of individuals for projects specifically in the construction sector. However, this poster implies that a woman had no place in the work sphere outside of the household. Furthermore, the fact that it states that the job has “good pay, good meals, good surroundings and working conditions” indirectly hints at the terrible working conditions in most work environments during this time, as a result of the Great Depression. The most popular form of bias is stereotype, which is very apparent in this particular piece as traditionally, a woman’s central role has been in the household. Bias by omission is also evident in this poster due to the fact that it fails to mention the fact that it did not include job training which contradicts “good working conditions”. Our present-day perspective allows women to recognize that there are numerous other opportunities outside of the household that would allow for better use of skills and progression in society. Since the 1930’s, Canada has progressed significantly in terms of gender equality; today one would look down on a career advertisement promoting stereotypes or targeting a specific gender. The artist’s intention is to increase job applications by making women feel as if their contributions to society are significant. Once again, this is achieved as a result of the artist’s decision to include a joyful woman on the