Third Wave Feminism Analysis

In 2016, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated, “I’m going to keep saying, loud and clearly, that I am a feminist. Until it is met with a shrug.” Feminism has become part of the popular discourse in Canada, and yet despite this, there are still many ways in which Canada has not changed in terms of becoming more gender equal since the beginning of the third-wave of feminism. The main issues that need to be addressed before we can achieve the ideal world that Mr. Trudeau is dreaming of, are gender inequality politically, culturally and in the workplace, all of which will be discussed in the following essay. Third-wave feminism seems to have a distinct focus on how society must change its cultural perspectives to become a gender equal community. …show more content…
During the second wave, feminists fought for equal pay for equal work, and to this day women and men are still fighting this battle. There are many factors that could explain way there is a lingering wage gap between the genders, including women choosing to take longer maternity leaves and taking jobs that do not lead to advancement (Beach, 2015). One might argue that the concept of the family wage is what is keeping women from achieving equal work for equal pay. As of 2011, “Women comprised slightly less than half of the employed labour force” (Statistics Canada, 2011). However, women were occupying positions that are traditionally viewed as “Pink Collar” jobs; according to Statistics Canada, the most common occupation for women, in 2011, were retail salesperson and administrate assistant, both of which have been viewed as women’s work since the 60s. By occupying pink collar jobs, which are usually waged work, woman may a difficult time when trying to acquire a job outside of the pink collar ghetto. Another area in which women face inequity in the labour force is in the domestic sphere. Waged work is the most often discussed in relation to equality in the workforce, but most women are not only involved with waged labour. They come home after work and do housework, this called the double shift. According to Katherine Marshall, “Women in couple families still do the lion’s …show more content…
Politics is the one of the easiest ways to create change to a society, Canadian’s integration of liberal feminism into politics has made many of the ideas of liberal feminism common in mainstream thinking. Although Canadian legislation has come far in recognizing feminist issues as human rights, there is still ways that the government can grow and become truly gender equal. Reproductive rights is a mainstay issue for the women’s movement. Although birth control and abortions are legal federally in Canada, there are many areas in this country where access to these necessities is difficult or impossible. Canada is a gigantic country, but for many large provinces and territories there is only planned parenthood facility in the whole province/territory, these areas include Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Nunavut, Northwest Territories and Yukon (Jesara Sinclair, 2016). Many of these areas are rural and have extreme climates, and having limited access to abortion clinics is harmful for women in these areas. In Prince Edward Island, surgical abortions are not performed (Jesara Sinclair, 2016). In fact there are no planned parenthood facilities anywhere in the province and women who are in need of an abortion are forced to leave the province or try to rid themselves of the fetus the “old wives way” (Jesara Sinclair, 2016). Reproductive rights are key to gender equality