Where are Canadian Women Going - Back to Their Homes or
Continue in Business Life?
Woman's work and woman's
sphere have always furnished a favorite topic of conversation. Her
activities and resourcefulness during the war exploded many of the old
theories and gained for her many of the privileges which for years she
had claimed to be her right. Now that the war is over the public mind
is seized with a new dread, and the subject for popular comment is
whether women will be willing to relinquish her newfound liberty and
wider sphere of activity and resume her place as home-maker in the
same old way or will she continue to claim her present place in the
industrial world and thus constitute one more of the already numerous
after-the-war problems.
This, it is argued, would be a double tragedy, because she would turn
her back upon home life and would at the same time keep out of
employment vast numbers of men who would otherwise be needed in the
various positions now occupied by women.
I have unbounded confidence in the women of Canada and in the future
of Canada and also in the modern woman movement, and therefore have
not the slightest doubt that present conditions are merely a phase of
the question that will eventually work out for good and not for evil.
Speaking of lessons learned from the war, there is one lesson that has
become quite commonplace-it has been stated so frequently and accepted
so unquestioningly. It is this-that the real strength of our men in
Europe was their wonderful "morale," which was due not only to the
high moral purpose for which they were fighting, but also to the
morale of the people at home. Indeed, it was this spirit at home that
made possible the spirit of our men in France.
Another lesson that has not been given quite so much prominence, but
is nevertheless quite as true, is this: The signing of peace terms and
the forming of a League of Nations will be effective in maintaining
peace only in so far as there is developed within the various nations
involved those ideals that make for peace. Following this thought a
little further, we are ready to admit that such a task can be
undertaken by no machinery of government unless that government has
back of it a people of strong moral purpose, and such a people can be
produced by no other means than through the homes of the nation.
Then, what is the message that comes clear and strong to the women of
Canada to-day-a message that transcends in importance any other that
may press its claims upon us. It is simply this-if Canada is to
maintain her place among the nations of the world-a place purchased by
the splendid sacrifice of her noble sons and the equally splendid
courage of their heroic mothers-she must continue to foster the
institution that gave birth to her greatness-the Christian home and
her women can perform no higher form of national service than this.
But how are we going to reconcile this with woman's present ideas
regarding her work? For answer, let us pause and ask another question.
What, after all, is the purpose of woman's life? The purpose of
woman's life is just the same as the purpose of man's life-that she
may make the best possible contribution to the generation in which she
is living. Then, why all the striving and unrest? The answer to this
is two-fold. First, we have failed too often to recognize this purpose
and have felt we were here to seek our own pleasure-in other words,
that it was ours to be ministered unto and not to minister, or to get
out of the world as much as possible in the line of comfort and give
in return as little as possible in the line of service.
The second cause of unrest is one that probably accounts in great
measure for the first, and, whether the individual woman was conscious
of it or not, was and is at the bottom of all her struggles for wider
liberty. This is the desire for recognition as an individual: and no
person can possibly develop his best or contribute his best unless
such recognition is given. Now that such recognition is given, we must
admit that every society, not so that we believe that we are running
any risk by so doing, for the average woman will continue to feel that
her contribution can best be made through the medium of the home, not
because woman is so intensely patriotic that she deliberately makes
this choice, but because in the very nature of things it is so, and
the average woman instinctively loves home life. So my message is
intended not so much to persuade women to enter homes as, having done
so, to recognize the dignity and importance of that which they have
undertaken, and to remember that any task is noble which in any way
tends to improve home conditions or minister to the comfort of those
included in the home circle.
. . . There is no question to-day, social, financial or religious,
that does not touch your home or the homes of the nation. What about
the young men and women about us, as well as the young mothers in our
midst, who need to come in friendly sympathetic touch with people of
your ideals? Is our educational system just what will best fit our
children for citizenship? If the girls of to-day are to be efficient
mothers, are their working hours, the conditions under which they work
and the remuneration they receive such as to make this possible, or
are we permitting the greed or shortsightedness of employers to
mortgage the future of our homes?
If it is true that many men cannot marry because their income will not
permit it, should we not interest ourselves in helping to make it
possible for every young man to receive sufficient education-academic
or technical-to fit him for earning an honorable living and then
demand that the living wage will be sufficient to support wife and
family? Since many women will either from choice or from force of
circumstances, continue to earn a living outside the home, are we not
in duty bound to stand for the principle of equal pay for equal work?
And would not more women be willing to give up their business careers
and enter homes of their own if the principle of economic independence
for women were established by law? The housing problem, the question
of public health, the fight against venereal disease, the over throw
of the liquor traffic are all matters of vital interest to women,
because of their direct bearing on the home. All of these, and
numerous other questions that suggest themselves to you, will lead us
far afield and deep into social and political problems, both national
and international, but why should we not be interested in all of
these?
If woman is to succeed in developing strong moral principles in her
family she will keep a close touch with God and the church. I have
never been willing to admit that women were essentially more religious
than men, and yet I hold that the woman who fosters a religious
atmosphere in the home has done much to anchor and strengthen the life
of the husband, and to make it possible for him to be strong and true
in the strain and worry of business life; and father, mother and
children all need to cultivate the spiritual and to identify
themselves with the church of God, as the recognized agency for
developing high ideals and fostering a love for and a vital interest
in our fellow men, both of which find their highest expression in
service.
Nor would I be understood as dwelling too much on the thoughtful and
serious, and neglecting the play life, for physical and mental fitness
presupposes a balanced life with a reasonable amount of recreation,
and the wise woman will not overlook this fact. Just let us remember
that our task is a noble one, and that in its accomplishment we have
the assurance that all the powers of the universe are at our command,
if we but link ourselves with the Divine, and that for a reward we
have the joy of accomplishment as well as the pleasure of association
with our dear ones from day to day. Could any life be narrow or
colorless with such a prospect ahead?
Canadian Home Journal Aug. 1919.
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