Invisible Barriers Gendered Problems in Canadian Law Faculties 1961 to 1994

This dissertation examines the history of the entry of women into the Canadian legal academy, focusing on the period from 1961 to 1994. The 1960s marked the gradual appearance of women in law faculty positions, with the study concluding in 1994, the year following the publication of The Canadian Bar Association’s Touchstones for Change Report. Despite highlighting successes, this report only briefly delved into the experiences of women law professors and the discrimination against them that persisted beyond 1993. Despite an increase in female law students from the mid-1970s, women remained significantly underrepresented as faculty members, facing invisible barriers that hindered their progress. Titled “Invisible Barriers,” the study explores various facets of women’s experiences in the academy, including women’s educational backgrounds, course assignments, administrative practices, and their contributions to legal literature, particularly feminist legal theory. Examining all twenty-one Canadian law faculties in this time frame, the research unveils unique patterns within civil and common law institutions, with Québec law faculties leading the way in incorporating women into the long inscribed androcentric sphere of law faculties. The study delves into the numerical growth of women faculty, revealing intriguing statistics and experiences that challenge conventional expectations. It also investigates the political, cultural, and socio-economic conditions that influenced women’s experiences in the legal academy. The dissertation contextualizes the struggles of women in the legal academy within the broader history of Canadian legal education. It examines how women’s access to higher education has evolved, tracing the shift from segregated conditions in the nineteenth century to coeducation. The study highlights key figures who challenged societal norms, including the first women to earn degrees in law and their subsequent achievements. It provides a new way in which to interpret women’s participation in male-dominated spheres, emphasizing the importance of understanding the experiences of those who were marginalized and often overlooked. The dissertation offers a different perspective by examining the legal academy’s role instead of focusing solely on practicing lawyers or women in the judiciary. It provides a thorough analysis of the systemic barriers women encountered and of the gradual changes within the Canadian legal academy.