Women, both the famous and the less well-known, have played vital roles in Canadian history. They have worked side by side with their fathers, brothers, husbands and sons to support their families and create communities. Today they continue to work inside and outside their homes in a wider variety of roles and occupations than ever before. However, women in Canada have had to fight hard to gain political rights and economic opportunities. Until late in the 19th century most Canadian women did not have legal control of their property or their earnings, and were denied access to higher education and many careers. They did not have the right to vote in elections or serve in elected offices. The six women you will meet in this website were not willing to accept things the way they were. They are remembered for the pioneering roles they played in politics, human rights, the arts and the sciences. They came from all parts of the country and represent many different ethnic and racial communities, but they all shared the determination to succeed in their chosen field. They are a group of hard-working, capable women whose accomplishments have opened doors for others.

Politics and human rights
Although women have worked steadily and hard to gain equal human, political and economic rights, there have been two periods of Canadian history in which their campaigns were especially strong and vigorous. The first of these two periods, generally referred today as the "first wave of feminism," extended from about 1880 into the 1920s. Its most notable achievement was to gain the right to vote for most Canadian women. The second wave of feminism began in the late 1960s and continues today. Its most significant achievement has been the protection of equality rights for women in Canada's new constitution of 1982.