87 Years Ago Today: Women Became Human

Commemorating Persons Day in Canada, global digital agency Critical Mass has collaborated with gender equality charity, the Famous 5 Foundation, to create a digital/social campaign including short films, posters and a website.

If you’re fretting you missed the memo about International Women’s Day undergoing gender-neutral rebranding then fear not, Persons Day is a thing in Canada and marks the historic decision, taken on 18 October, 1929, by the country's high court of appeal, to include women in the legal definition of ‘persons’.

Aside from the worrying fact that prior to 1929 Canadian women were presumably deemed slightly less than human, the good news is that the decree gave women the right to be appointed to the Senate of Canada and paved the way for increased female participation in public and political life. The five women who pursued the case – journalists, magistrates and politicians influenced by other reform movements – became known as the Famous Five.

Under the hashtag #WomenBelong, Critical Mass created short film portraits of professional women, with taglines such as 'women belong in the kitchen', the catch being the woman in the kitchen is celebrated chef Connie DeSousa. Other portraits of female professional feature stats showing how underepresented women are in each of the careers – the battle is not yet over! 

The portraits go live today on the Famous 5 site, social channels, and the Persons Day event in downtown Calgary. Canadians are encouraged to use the hashtag #WomenBelong on Twitter to share messages of encouragement and equality.

 “Thanks to the Famous Five, women are entitled to belong in any role their male counterparts do – but 87 years later women are still far from equally represented in many industries.” says Kathryn Nixon, strategist at Critical Mass. “Our aim was to communicate the message of Persons Day in a way that not only resonates with today’s audiences, but also inspires them to do their part to buck gender stereotypes.”

Critical Mass’s CEO Dianne Wilkins says: “We think people will appreciate the twist here. Women belong wherever their talents and hard work take them—the kitchen, the hospital, the courtroom —anywhere. They determine their own fate.”