Canadian Studies · Grade 10

Active learning ideas

Gender Equality Today & Intersectional Feminism

Active learning works for this topic because it helps students confront ingrained stereotypes with evidence. Collaborative tasks foster critical thinking about historical patterns while building empathy for the lived experiences of women navigating systemic barriers in the workforce.

• Ontario Curriculum Expectations
• ON: Canada since 1982 - Grade 10
• ON: Social, Economic, and Political Context - Grade 10

• 25–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Inquiry Circle
• 45 min · Small Groups

Inquiry Circle: The Workforce Timeline

In small groups, students create a timeline of women's participation in the workforce, identifying key moments like the world wars, the 1970 Royal Commission, and the introduction of pay equity laws. They discuss the factors that drove these changes.

Assess Canada's current progress towards achieving full gender equality.

Facilitation Tip

During Think-Pair-Share: The Gender Pay Gap Today, provide real salary data from Canadian organizations and have pairs calculate the gap in two different professions before sharing with the class.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Considering intersectional feminism, what are the top two gender equality issues facing young Canadians today, and why are they the most pressing?' Facilitate a class debate where students must support their prioritized issues with evidence and explain how different identities intersect to create these challenges.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Stations Rotation
• 45 min · Small Groups

Stations Rotation: Barriers and Breakthroughs

Set up stations on the 'marriage bar,' the fight for maternity leave, and the first women in traditionally male professions (e.g., law, medicine, trades). At each station, students identify the specific obstacles women faced and how they were overcome.

Explain the concept of intersectional feminism and its importance in contemporary movements.

What to look for

Provide students with a short case study describing a hypothetical scenario involving gender inequality (e.g., a workplace promotion decision). Ask them to identify at least two intersecting factors (e.g., gender, race, disability) that might influence the outcome and explain how they contribute to the inequality.

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Activity 03

• Think-Pair-Share
• 25 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: The Gender Pay Gap Today

Students look at current data on the gender pay gap in Canada across different industries. They discuss with a partner why they think the gap still exists and what further changes are needed to achieve true pay equity.

Identify and prioritize the most pressing gender equality issues for young Canadians today.

What to look for

On an index card, have students write one specific policy or societal norm in Canada that they believe hinders gender equality. Then, ask them to briefly explain how this issue might disproportionately affect individuals with intersecting marginalized identities.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Start with concrete examples before abstract concepts. Use local or relatable case studies to make intersectionality tangible. Avoid framing the topic as a timeline of progress, as this can oversimplify systemic challenges. Research shows students grasp intersectional feminism better when they analyze specific policies or workplace scenarios rather than general theories.

Successful learning looks like students accurately identifying key historical moments in women's workforce participation and articulating how intersectional factors shape gender inequality today. They should be able to explain systemic causes rather than individual choices when discussing pay gaps and career barriers.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Collaborative Investigation: The Workforce Timeline, watch for students assuming women only worked during wartime or the 1960s. Redirect them to examine census data or oral histories from earlier decades to identify unpaid labor or domestic service work.

  During Collaborative Investigation: The Workforce Timeline, provide each group with a pre-1940 primary source like a 1921 census table or a domestic worker's diary to uncover the long history of women's labor before the 1960s.

• During Think-Pair-Share: The Gender Pay Gap Today, watch for students oversimplifying the pay gap as a choice of low-paying careers. Redirect them to analyze pay data within specific professions using the case studies provided.

  During Think-Pair-Share: The Gender Pay Gap Today, give pairs salary tables for nurses, engineers, and teachers, and ask them to calculate the gap within each profession to challenge the 'choice' narrative.

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Methods used in this brief

• Inquiry Circle
• Stations Rotation
• Think-Pair-Share