Canadian Women Now and Then: More than 100 Stories of Fearless Trailblazers
Canadian Women Are Amazing THEN NOW CANADIAN WOMEN HAVE ALWAYS BEEN GROUNDBREAKERS They have fought discrimination made scientific discoveries set sports records and much more Breaking new ground isn't easy Many of the people in this book had to battle incredible odds to follow their dreams In the late 1800s when Canada was still a new country most women were told that their only place was in the home They were discouraged from attending university too strenuous or playing sports too inappropriate A lot has changed since then Throughout this book you'll meet individuals from the present and the past Those in the NOW category are doing inspirational work in their fields today Beside them in the THEN category are the groundbreakers from the past who paved the way And some women were groundbreakers in one career and continue to inspire today in a different area you'll find them on the THEN NOW pages You'll meet Indigenous women some born before the country was founded whose ancestors were the First Peoples on the land You'll also read about immigrants who have helped shape the country Together they make up the story of Canada It's impossible to fit every amazing Canadian woman into one book But on these pages you'll discover stories about well known individuals and even a few you may not have heard about yet Get ready to meet these remarkable people
1951 Never retract never explain never apologize get things done Nellie McClung 1873
ACTIVISTS Anjali Katta NOW Born 1997 Birthplace Sudbury Ontario If we give a girl a chance imagine how different the world would be Since the age of six Anjali Katta has been helping people She's made jewellery to raise money for the British Columbia Children's Hospital helped in soup kitchens and volunteered with groups in India where her parents were born One day while visiting Mumbai India Anjali met girls her age who were forced to work instead of getting an education Some were forbidden to go to school because their parents were worried the boys there would harass them To help girls like them Anjali founded GirlsCo when she was 16 years old The not for profit organization raises money for girls education One of the organization's projects is Bombay Pads It delivers menstrual products and sex education to girls and women in Mumbai so that girls don't have to miss school or be shamed for not having such products That means they have a better chance of keeping up with their classmates In 2014 Anjali spoke to the United Nations on the International Day of the Girl She talked about what it means to be a girl and how in some parts of the world girls are made to feel unimportant But she said girls are actually capable and strong A year later Canada's government set up the Girls Advisory Council to find out what is important to Canadian girls Anjali was chosen to advise the council She wants to empower girls in Canada and raise awareness about the difficulties that girls face around the world GirlsCo also holds conferences across the country to encourage young people to become activists just like Anjali
Viola Desmond THEN 1914-1965 Birthplace Halifax Nova Scotia When Viola Desmond's car broke down in New Glasgow Nova Scotia in November 1946 she had no idea she was about to make history Stuck there overnight this quiet hairdresser decided to see a movie Viola bought her ticket and found a seat on the main floor But her ticket was for the balcony only white people could sit in the theatre's better section Black people like Viola had to sit upstairs An usher told Viola to move so she tried to buy one of the more expensive tickets for the main floor The ticket seller refused This was the last straw Viola had put up with racism all her life She slapped down her money and returned to her original seat Eventually a police officer took her to jail Viola was charged with cheating the Province of Nova Scotia She hadn't paid the extra one cent tax for her seat on the main floor of the theatre No one mentioned Viola's skin colour but everyone knew that's what the case was really about She was found guilty and had to pay a fine Viola fought her conviction but lost Black people were still discriminated against Her story might have ended there if not for another strong woman -Viola's sister Many years after Viola died Wanda Robson began telling her sister's story People agreed Viola had been treated unfairly In 2010 Nova Scotia's premier apologized to Viola and all the province's black people and granted Viola an official pardon Viola Desmond now appears on the 10 dollar bill making her the first black woman on a Canadian banknote Wonderful Women Journalist Carrie Best 1903-2001 made Viola's story front page news to publicize the discrimination she faced Carrie's newspaper The Clarion was the first in Nova Scotia owned and published by a black person
