• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020-01 Employing Broad Tactics: Social Change, Women, and Work in Alberta: 1970-1993 Hrynuik, Erin Hrynuik, E. (2020). Employing Broad Tactics: Social Change, Women, and Work in Alberta: 1970-1993 (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. http://hdl.handle.net/1880/111594 master thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY Employing Broad Tactics: Social Change, Women, and Work in Alberta: 1970-1993 by Erin Hrynuik A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS GRADUATE PROGRAM IN HISTORY CALGARY, ALBERTA JANUARY, 2020 © Erin Hrynuik 2020 ii ABSTRACT This study analyses how working women in Alberta navigated themselves throughout the change in workforce demographic in the province in the late 1980s and early 1990s. I argue that by employing a variety of tactics in advocating for themselves as full participants in the province’s workforce, the groups studied were successful in bringing the voice of women into Alberta’s labour movement. I assessed the activities and initiatives of three feminist labour activist groups in the province and found that each group was unique in how members tried to implement positive change to create a better environment for working women in the province. Through an analysis of each group’s meeting minutes, correspondence, press releases, and media attention, as well as three oral interviews, I argue that each group advocated for the rights of working women in Alberta. ii iii PREFACE This thesis is original, unpublished, independent work by the author, Erin Hrynuik. The interviews reported throughout the thesis were covered by Ethics Certificate number REB17- 0028_REN2, issued by the University of Calgary Conjoint Faculties Research Ethics Board for the project “Feminist Activism in 1970s and 1980s Calgary: Community Programs in Sexual Health Education, Labour, and Immigrant Advocacy” on March 20, 2017. iii iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project began with my own general interest in how people – within organizations or as individuals – have tried to advocate for themselves throughout Western Canada’s history. My original project was more closely tied to a previous life of mine, in that I wanted to look at how university students at the University of Calgary advocated for themselves during the heavily studied protest era of the Long Sixties within the twentieth century. As my own life and aspirations changed throughout graduate school, so too did my research interest within this program. My project changed to reflect my post-academic life, that is, one that focuses on working women in the province of Alberta. During the initial phase of my graduate school experience, the support of my former supervisor, Dr. Paul Stortz, was instrumental in laying the foundation for my interest in completing this program. My fellow graduate school colleague, Zach Bates, provided a level of conversation and friendship that was unmatched throughout my time in this program and for that I will be forever grateful. My route to completion has been long and winding but the constant encouragement from my supervisor, Dr. Nancy Janovicek, has been one of the most significant factors in my successful completion of this program. Her unwavering support and belief in my ability to pursue this project will have a lasting impact on my life in so many ways. The three women I was fortunate enough to interview for this project provided a source of inspiration and motivation that I will always remember. Cindy McCallum-Miller, Susan Keeley, and Rosemary Brown, you are all truly role models in the history of this province, and I am grateful for the moments you were willing to share with me. iv v This project also benefitted from the academic and financial support of the University of Calgary History Department, as well as the Queen Elizabeth II Scholarship through the Faculty of Graduate Studies. More importantly, my success also stemmed from the support of my family and friends, especially my parents, who have taught me that the value of hard work and the rewards that follow it are always within my reach. This project is dedicated to the memory of my grandmother, Elizabeth Gillespie. Employed full-time throughout most of her life, she was a single mother of five children who persevered and made it through her years with a constant love for her family. Grandma Betty, for all of us whose lives you touched, thank you for planting the seeds of such a beautiful life. v vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................. II PREFACE .................................................................................................................... III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................. IV TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................. VI CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1 LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................................................................. 4 METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................................. 16 CHAPTER 2: ALBERTA LABOUR’S ‘OLD GIRLS’ NETWORK: THE SISTERS FROM HELL .... 27 ON THE PICKET LINE: THE ORIGINS OF THE SISTERS FROM HELL ................................................... 29 “FUN” – RAISING HELL: FUNDRAISING AND BUILDING COMMUNITY ............................................ 36 ALBERTA’S OWN “GUERILLA” THEATRE? ................................................................................. 40 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................... 48 CHAPTER 3: ORGANIZED ACTIVISM: THE WOMEN’S COMMITTEE OF THE CALGARY AND DISTRICT LABOUR COUNCIL ...................................................................................... 50 THE WOMEN’S COMMITTEE: BEGINNINGS ............................................................................... 52 ACTION THROUGH NETWORKING ........................................................................................... 60 THE WOMEN’S COMMITTEE AND STRUCTURAL READJUSTMENT ................................................... 64 ADVOCACY AGAINST SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN ........... 69 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................... 75 CHAPTER 4: “A FELT NEED”: ADVOCATING FOR PAY AND EMPLOYMENT EQUITY IN ALBERTA .................................................................................................................. 77 NATIONAL CONTEXT: THE ABELLA REPORT AND THE EMPLOYMENT EQUITY ACT OF 1986 ................ 79 PAY EQUITY LEGISLATION IN PROVINCIAL JURISDICTIONS ............................................................ 84 ALBERTA’S “FELT NEED” FOR LEGISLATION .............................................................................. 87 WOMEN OF THE 90S: THE PAY AND EMPLOYMENT EQUITY CONFERENCE ...................................... 89 SHIFTING PARADIGMS: RACISM, COLONIALISM, AND ABLEISM IN CANADA’S WORKFORCE ................ 92 “A BAD PAY EQUITY LAW IS NO BETTER THAN NO LAW AT ALL”: EFFECTIVE EQUITY LAWS FOR ALBERTA. 97 “EQUITY IN THE BROADEST SENSE OF THE TERM”: ALBERTA’S PAY AND EMPLOYMENT EQUITY COALITION ..................................................................................................................................... 105 CONCLUSION: “THAT FATEFUL SPRING ELECTION” AND THE END OF THE COALITION ....................... 113 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION ....................................................................................... 116 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................... 123 PRIMARY SOURCES ............................................................................................................ 123 SECONDARY SOURCES ........................................................................................................ 125 APPENDIX............................................................................................................... 129 vi vii ORAL HISTORY METHOD OF RECRUITMENT: LETTER OF INITIAL CONTACT – SAMPLE EMAIL .............. 129 ORAL HISTORY METHOD OF RECRUITMENT: PARTICIPANT CONTACT – SAMPLE EMAIL .................... 131 ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ................................................................................. 132 CONSENT FORM ............................................................................................................... 133 vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION You know, I think I played a role. Maybe not a huge role, but I think that each person can make a difference. Even if it’s in a small

Load more

  144

Copy Link