Cecelia Ottawa, Ontario
Fair address: Ontario Provincial Heritage Fair
Project: Le rôle des femmes canadiennes pendant la Deuxième Guerre Mondiale
My project explores the many roles of Canadian women during the Second World War. It discusses how women contributed to the war effort, raised funds and replenished the Canadian workforce.
What was the most interesting thing you learned about your topic?
I learned that these hard-working women weren't respected for their contributions. Many women replaced the men in factories, and rather than being valued, society looked down upon them for doing a "man's job." Many women would even refrain from wearing their uniforms in public, because they were ashamed of their jobs. I found it fascinating that these women who were doing extremely difficult jobs weren't admired, but rather socially shunned.
What important lessons have you learned that you want to share with other Canadians?
I discovered that women did great amounts of work to help the war effort. I realized that women truly worked as hard as the men did, and I was surprised at the minimal recognition that was paid to their hard work. I want to share with Canadians this story, and give these women the acknowledgement they deserve.
How would you compare your life today to the lives of those studied in your project?
During the Second World War, many girls my age would have been helping the war effort along with their mothers. I probably would have been selling savings stamps; this was a very common job for teenage girls. They were called "Miss Canada" and they would wear red dresses and sell savings stamps on street corners and at baseball games. Also, the women of this time greatly influenced the female employment rate; thanks to them, today I am able to consider a wide variety of careers that would have originally been only occupied by men.