Invisible Barriers Gendered Problems in Canadian Law Faculties 1961 to 1994

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dc.contributor.advisorMarlene Shore
dc.contributor.authorStarr, Taylor Demi
dc.date.accessioned2025-04-10T10:49:57Z
dc.date.available2025-04-10T10:49:57Z
dc.date.copyright2024-11-27
dc.date.issued2025-04-10
dc.date.updated2025-04-10T10:49:56Z
dc.degree.disciplineHistory
dc.degree.levelDoctoral
dc.degree.namePhD - Doctor of Philosophy
dc.description.abstractThis 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.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10315/42812
dc.languageen
dc.rightsAuthor owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.
dc.subject.keywordsInvisible Barriers
dc.subject.keywordswomen in law faculties
dc.subject.keywordsCanadian legal academy
dc.subject.keywordsgender disparities in academia
dc.subject.keywordssystemic discrimination
dc.subject.keywordsfeminist legal theory
dc.subject.keywordsCanadian legal history
dc.subject.keywordsbarriers in Canadian legal education
dc.subject.keywordsandrocentrism in legal academia
dc.subject.keywordssecond-wave feminism in Canada
dc.subject.keywordsprofessional socialization
dc.subject.keywordsintersectionality
dc.subject.keywordsrepresentation in law faculties
dc.subject.keywordsQuebec law faculties and feminism
dc.subject.keywordsPrairie law faculties and gender
dc.subject.keywordsNew Brunswick legal education history
dc.subject.keywordsOntario law faculties
dc.subject.keywordsBritish Columbia law faculties
dc.subject.keywordsNova Scotia law faculties
dc.subject.keywordsSaskatchewan law faculties
dc.subject.keywordsAlberta law faculties
dc.subject.keywordsCalgary law faculties
dc.subject.keywordsManitoba law faculties
dc.subject.keywordsCanadian Bar Association Touchstones for Change
dc.subject.keywordsgender equality in Canadian law
dc.subject.keywordsBreaking Anonymity: Chilly Climate for Women Faculty
dc.subject.keywordsTouchstones for Change Report
dc.subject.keywordsQuiet Revolution and gender equality
dc.subject.keywordshistory of women in Canadian law
dc.subject.keywordsfeminist legal studies in Canada
dc.subject.keywordscovert vs. overt feminists
dc.subject.keywordslegal liberalism and gender equality.
dc.titleInvisible Barriers Gendered Problems in Canadian Law Faculties 1961 to 1994
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation

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