Second Wave Feminism In Canada

What would Canada be like if feminists hadn’t existed? Second wave feminism was the most influential wave of the three achieving the following three main goals; ending discrimination in the workplace, lessening sexual exploitation/sexual abuse, and gaining reproductive rights. It is defined as a period of feminist activity that first began in the early 1960s and lasted through the 1980s. The struggle women faced with discrimination was extremely evident as 14 people were slaughtered, and 13 injured in Montreal. These women had been accepted into an engineering program at École Polytechnique. A man by the name of Marc Lépine, who hadn’t been accepted into the program was angry that women, who he thought were of lesser value than him, were …show more content…
The second wave of feminism stepped it up a level and demanded for equal pay for work of equal value. The slight thought that women were paid 30% less than men for the same job, angered feminists. Even though multiple laws had been passed, it was evident that women and men were still not equal in the workplace. In 1981, women gathered together and lobbied Members of Parliament to include women’s rights in Canada’s constitution. Thanks to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982, women were now legally protected against discrimination in the workplace. Section 15 of the Act made discrimination against race, colour, religion, sex or national origin illegal in Canada. Section 28 guaranteed that all rights and freedoms listed in the charter referred equally to both male and females. This act was a huge deal not only to end discrimination in the workplace, but discrimination throughout Canada. The end of discrimination did not end there. The Canadian Human Rights Act was passed in 1985. Sections 5-26 prevented discriminatory practices based upon the sex of the individual (among others). More specifically, Section 11 said that “It is a discriminatory practice for an …show more content…
The pill helped do many things. It lowered the birth control rate and helped stop the baby boom, which started late in 1946 and ended in 1964 thanks to birth control. It allowed women to postpone childbirth and do what they really want earlier in life; career and goal wise. By 1970 over 8 million people were on “the pill”. The pill gave women control over their reproductive systems. It prevented teenagers from becoming pregnant. The debate over abortion has been a continuous fight between pro-choice and pro-life since the 1960s. Women and men who were pro-life claimed that having an abortion was murder. While people who were pro-choice believed that women should have the right to do what they wish with their bodies. There are many reasons as to why a woman would want to terminate the pregnancy. For example, becoming pregnant as a teenager is damaging to their lives considering if she kept the baby, she would have to potentially quit school and stay at home caring for the child all day. Or if a woman was raped, terminating the pregnancy would be best for them. There are too many reasons to count as to why a woman would want to terminate their pregnancy, the point is it’s their choice, their right and the availability to abortion has helped women. Feminists in this day and age believed that making a woman return from work promptly after delivering a child was not right in any way. Maternity leave was then