Women in the Workforce & Pay Equity

Active learning helps students move beyond abstract facts about policy changes to see how real people shaped workplace rights. When they analyze primary documents or debate historical impacts, they connect the Royal Commission’s recommendations to lived experiences of discrimination and progress.

• Grade 10
• Canadian Studies
• 3 activities
• 25 min–45 min

Learning Objectives

1. Analyze the impact of World War I and World War II on women's entry into traditionally male-dominated industries in Canada.
2. Explain the concept of pay equity and identify specific legislative efforts in Canada to address the gender pay gap.
3. Evaluate the effectiveness of policies and social movements in advancing women's workplace equality since the 1960s.
4. Compare the types of barriers women faced in the workforce in the mid-20th century versus contemporary challenges.

Inquiry Circle

⏱ 45 min·Small Groups

Inquiry Circle: The 1970 Royal Commission

In small groups, students analyze a selection of the 167 recommendations from the Royal Commission on the Status of Women. They identify which recommendations have been fulfilled and which issues (like affordable childcare) remain ongoing challenges today.

Prepare & details

Analyze how the World Wars significantly altered women's participation in the workforce.

Facilitation Tip: During the Collaborative Investigation, assign each small group one recommendation from the Royal Commission and have them map it to a law passed within five years.

Setup: Groups at tables with access to source materials

Materials: Source material collection, Inquiry cycle worksheet, Question generation protocol, Findings presentation template

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

Formal Debate

⏱ 45 min·Whole Class

Formal Debate: The Impact of the 'Pill'

Students debate how the introduction of the birth control pill in the 1960s changed women's lives in terms of education, career, and family planning. They discuss the social and economic consequences of women having more control over their reproductive lives.

Prepare & details

Explain the persistent barriers women face in achieving workplace equality today.

Facilitation Tip: For the Structured Debate on the Pill, provide students with two primary sources: a 1960s medical journal article and a feminist magazine piece to ground arguments in historical voices.

Setup: Two teams facing each other, audience seating for the rest

Materials: Debate proposition card, Research brief for each side, Judging rubric for audience, Timer

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Think-Pair-Share

⏱ 25 min·Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: The Morgentaler Case

Students read about Dr. Henry Morgentaler's long legal battle for abortion rights. They discuss with a partner the significance of the 1988 Supreme Court decision and how it reflected the changing values of Canadian society regarding women's autonomy.

Prepare & details

Evaluate the progress and challenges in the fight for pay equity in Canada.

Facilitation Tip: In the Think-Pair-Share on the Morgentaler Case, ask students to jot down one legal and one social change that followed the decision before sharing.

Setup: Standard classroom seating; students turn to a neighbor

Materials: Discussion prompt (projected or printed), Optional: recording sheet for pairs

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

Teaching This Topic

Teachers should avoid presenting second-wave feminism as a monolithic success story. Instead, use primary sources to show internal debates about who the movement included and excluded. Research suggests pairing historical policy wins with counter-stories of marginalized women to deepen understanding of intersectionality. Avoid framing early feminism as solely oppositional; highlight coalitions with labor groups and Indigenous activists that strengthened policy demands.

What to Expect

Successful learning looks like students confidently linking specific Royal Commission recommendations to laws passed, debating the Pill’s effects with historical evidence, and recognizing how legal cases like Morgentaler shifted cultural and policy boundaries. Their discussions should show depth, not just agreement with feminist aims.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During the Collaborative Investigation on the Royal Commission, watch for students assuming the 167 recommendations were all immediately adopted.

What to Teach Instead

Use the activity’s source packets to have students track which recommendations became law within five years and which stalled, then discuss why some faced resistance.

Common Misconception

During the Structured Debate on the Impact of the 'Pill', students may reduce the movement’s goals to personal liberation rather than systemic change.

What to Teach Instead

Have debaters cite specific policy outcomes tied to the Pill, like changes in divorce laws or workplace protections, using the debate sources as evidence.

Assessment Ideas

Discussion Prompt

After the Structured Debate on the Pill, pose this question: 'What does the distinction between personal choice and systemic rights reveal about the limitations of focusing only on access to birth control?' Facilitate a class discussion where students evaluate the debate’s arguments.

Quick Check

During the Collaborative Investigation, provide students with a short excerpt from a 1970s newspaper article about pay discrimination. Ask them to identify two barriers mentioned and suggest one policy from the Royal Commission that could address them.

Exit Ticket

After the Think-Pair-Share on the Morgentaler Case, have students write an exit card naming one legal precedent set by the case and one ongoing challenge in reproductive rights that connects to pay equity today.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge students who finish early to research how a specific Royal Commission recommendation was either adopted, modified, or ignored, and present a 3-minute 'policy autopsy' to the class.
• Scaffolding for struggling students: Provide sentence starters for the debate, such as 'One impact of the Pill was...' and 'A counterpoint is...' to structure their arguments.
• Deeper exploration: Have students interview a community member over 50 about how workplace policies for women have changed since the 1970s and present findings in a mini-documentary format.

Key Vocabulary

Pay Equity	The principle of equal pay for work of equal value, aiming to address systemic gender-based discrimination in compensation.
Glass Ceiling	An invisible barrier that prevents women and other minority groups from rising to the highest levels of leadership and management in organizations.
Occupational Segregation	The concentration of men and women in different types of jobs, often with women in lower-paying roles and sectors.
Equal Pay for Equal Work	Legislation requiring that men and women receive the same pay for performing the exact same job.