2. ROLE OF WOMEN
• During the 1920’s women were making advances to equal
rights. In the last decade women achieved the right to
vote, but they were still not given the equals rights women
share with men today.
• In previous decades and centuries women were either stay at
home moms or worked for jobs that included a “motherly”
role (e.g. wet-nurse, nanny, laundress).
• During the 1920’s, although rare some women were
persevering to become a doctors, dentists, lawyers, school
principals, engineers, or company executives.
3. ROLE OF WOMEN (CONTINUED)
• Most occupations that were meant for women were
nursing, journalism, secretaries and elementary school
teaching.
• Due to the new products and appliances that were being built
around this time , women were finding that they were able to
not only maintain a household but also they could start
working outside the home; because of the time that was
being saved by the various cleaning appliances. (e.g. a
fridge, vacuum, and washing machine)
• Although a lot of women a lot of women still decided to be
stay at home moms, doing household work it was become
more frequent than ever before to see women working, but
they were paid a lot less than men.
4. THE PERSON’S CASE
Nellie Irene Henrietta Emily Louise McKinney
McClung: Parlby: Edwards: Murphy: Provincial Politician
Activist, Activist, Women’s Jurist, and Rights
Feminist, an Politician, Right Author, Activist
d And Farm Activist and and Rights
Politician Leader Reformer Activist
5. THE PERSON’S CASE
• Women received the right to vote on the previous decade, yet
they were still not regarded as persons. The only people that
were given the rights were given to men over the age of age
18 and were Canadian citizens.
• The BNA Act in 1867 created the Dominion of Canada
providing its governing principles.
• The British common law made a ruling saying “Women are
persons in matters of points and penalties but are not
persons in the matters of rights and privileges.”
• In 1916 Alberta social activist Emily Murphy was appointed
the first female magistrate in Alberta.
6. THE PERSON’S CASE
• In 1916 Murphy was challenged by a lawyer that women were
not persons. Outraged Murphy worked to give the right to
woman that they were viewed as a person. In 1917 the
Supreme Court of Alberta ruled that women were persons but
this law only applied in Alberta and not for the rest of Canada.
• Murphy decided to question the issue to the prime minister
Robert Borden by putting her name as candidate to be a
Canadian Senator. He rejected her due to the fact she was a
woman and women were not considered persons.
• In response Murphy got a petition signed by thousands of
Canadians that were asking for her to be appointed Senate.
7. THE PERSON’S CASE
• Borden was willing to say yes but couldn’t due to the fact that
he had to follow the 1876 British common law that stated
women were not eligible for rights and privileges.
• A few years later Murphy asked four other protesting Albertan
women to join her in a petition to protest against the federal
government’s on the issue of women states.
• On August 1927 the four other women (Irene Parlby, Nellie
McClung, Louise McKinney, and Henrietta Edwards) signed
the petition asking the federal government to inquire about
two questions on the women’s status to the Supreme Court of
Canada.
8. THE PERSON’S CASE
• The Supreme Court of Canada heard about the case on March
14th 1928 and on April 24th 1928 Francis Alexander Anglin
stated that “Senators must be at least 30 years old, must be a
British subject, must own real and personal property, with a
net value of $4,000, and must live in the province from
which they’re appointed.” They used the pronoun HE in the
original writing to state it was males only.
• The Famous Five then took the case on appeal to the Judicial
Committee of the Privy Council.
9. THE PERSON’S CASE
• The Lord Chancellor, Viscount Sankey writing for the
committee found that the meaning “qualified persons” could
be read broadly to include women which then reversed the
decision of the Supreme Court.
• The final ruling was made October 29th 1929. Sankey says:
“The exclusion of women from all public office is a relic of days
make barbarous than today’s, to those who ask why the ward
should include females the obvious answer is why should they
not.”
12. FLAPPERS
• Flappers were the fashion icon for the 1920’s. Flapper were
basically symbolized the era of the 1920’s. A flapper was
considered the new type of younger women for the 1920’s.
They were women who went against the social norms of the
time in not only the way they dressed but also acted.
• In a time where revealing skin was unacceptable, flappers did
the contrary tot his and revealed ankles, calves, knees, and
even backs were exposed. They were a boyish bob hair
cut, listened to jazz music and dance in a scandalous manner
compared to most women at the time.
13. FLAPPERS
• It was shameful and rare to see women smoking and drinking
in public but flappers completely transformed the way most
women behaved by openly smoking and drinking in
public, wearing excessive make-up, treating sex in a casual
manner, and driving automobiles. Flappers brought liberalistic
views to the 1920’s.
• Flappers wore their hair in a bobbed blunt cut level to the
bottom of their ears, the hair cut alone was a radical
transformation from how most women had their hair at a long
length.
• Women’s evening dresses revealed more of the body, dresses
were full length but back and neck lines were low and it was
common for flappers to appear flat chested, especially if this
attire was worn to speakeasies and nightclubs.
