Women's History Month, 2004

PSAC Statement:  

"Never retract, never explain, never apologize - get things done and let them howl." (Nellie McClung)

As we know in the labour movement, the struggles of our sisters for women's equality continue all year round. October is officially Women's History Month in Canada , celebrating the famous Person's Case. This year, the PSAC is especially proud to have one of our members, Sister Allison Brewer, honoured by the Governor-General in commemmoration of the Person's Case, for her outstanding contributions to women's advancement.

To us today, it seems bizarre that women at one point should have not been considered “persons”. That's because in 1929, a group of five feisty Albertan women challenged the law. They asked the Supreme Court of Canada to declare that women were persons under the meaning of the British North America Act and therefore eligible to be appointed to the Senate. Unfortunately, the judges did not believe that women were persons under the Act. The “Famous Five”, as they came to be known, refused to give up. They appealed to the British Privy Council, then Canada 's highest court of appeal. On October 18, 1929 , the Privy Council declared that women are indeed persons. The decision stated "that the exclusion of women from all public offices is a relic of days more barbarous than ours. And to those who would ask why the word "person" should include females, the obvious answer is, why should it not?" This historic victory inspired many more women to fight through the decades for the respect, dignity and equality they deserve.

PSAC sisters took the fight for pay equity to the streets, to the courts and to the employer. In the words of our President, Nycole Turmel, “We had to fight for nearly 16 years, but our perseverance was rewarded… The most important pay equity settlement in the world is a victory for all women who demand justice and equality.”  

While we can justifiably be proud of our herstory, it's still a struggle. Our battle for pay equity is not quite over, our battle for a national fully-funded, quality, accessible child care program is only just beginning. Women everywhere still face violence, harassment, gender discrimination, social and economic inequality, and underrepresentation in decision-making bodies. Trade union sisters everywhere are on the front lines of these struggles. As always, sisters like Allison Brewer are our inspiring role models for the future. During this Women's History Month, take a moment to let all your strong sisters know what a difference they've made!