Metadata

In 1976, the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation published “The Effects of Sexism on the Career Development of Teachers”. The report was generated by the work of the Task Force on Women created by the Provincial Executive. The Task Force’s mandate was to examine the persistent under-representation of women in positions of responsibility despite the significant increase in the numbers of women teaching at the secondary level, and to recommend remedial actions. The research also provided information about women members and their representation in OSSTF leadership roles.

The creation of the Task Force arose not only in response to the growing numbers of women entering secondary teaching, which had traditionally been a largely male preserve. It also reflected the rise in feminist awareness and activism emerging through the late 1960s and into the 1970s. There was growing recognition of gender inequality in our schools, both as learning institutions and as workplaces.

By 1981 the Federation had established a provincial Status of Women Committee charged with addressing “equality of opportunity” for women members. A provincial conference soon followed, and district SW committees grew in numbers and activity. By 1982, at the urging of the SWC, childcare was made available at the Annual Assembly. Over the next few years, delegates to the Annual Assembly passed policies on affirmative action, childcare, paid maternity leave, superannuation, pornography, and non-sexist language. In 1983, it approved a by-law dealing with sexual harassment within the Federation. And in 1985, support was given to carry out a large follow up survey of members to evaluate what changes had taken place for women in secondary education during the ten years since the 1976 report. This initiative also provided some data on women’s participation in OSSTF, as well as attitudes towards male and female students.

Outside the Federation, OSSTF became part of the Ontario Coalition for Better Childcare, submitted briefs to the provincial government on equal pay legislation, and participated in the Ontario Federation of Labour Campaign on Women and Affirmative Action, which held public forums across the province to raise awareness of discrimination against women in the workforce. OSSTF members were encouraged to make local submissions. These can be read in the OFL brief “Making Up the Difference”, which reported on what it heard from women and made recommendations.

The provincial OSSTF Status of Women Committee and local SW committees played an important role during the 1980s in ensuring issues such as paid maternity leave, child-related emergency leave, and seniority were taken up in collective bargaining as part of Negotiating Towards Equality. The need to name and take action against sexual harassment in the workplace was identified. Numerous articles were written, and pamphlets and informational materials produced, to support these concerns becoming priorities for the Federation to address.

Status of Women was also a driving force in winning OSSTF support for implementing Board of Education Affirmative Action programs. And in the mid-80s OSSTF set up an internal affirmative action project to look at its own practices as an employer.

The early focus of the SWC was women in secondary teaching. This shifted after OSSTF changed its Letters Patent and began organizing others working in education. Many of these newly organized members were women working in a wide range of job classifications. Equal pay for work of equal value and other concerns emerged as new challenges to take up.

Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) Documents

	Title	Date	Region
	A Long Way Yet to Go (Forum) – February 1983	1983	Ontario
	Affirmative Action	1985	National (all of Canada)
	Background Information on Family Benefits and Childbirth Leave	1983	Ontario
	Count Me In	--	Ontario
	Count Me In: Special Insert (Update) – May 1982	1982	Ontario
	District 10 Peel Status of Women: Recommendations to Collective Bargaining Committee on Parental Leave	1983	Ontario
	Letter Inviting Applications to 1st OSSTF Status of Women Committee	1981	Ontario
	Mail and Female (Forum) – October/November 1981	1981	Ontario
	Making Up the Difference: Mandatory Affirmative Action (Forum) – October/November 1983	1983	Ontario
	Metro Status of Women Coalition – Negotiating Towards Equality: Paid Maternity Leave	1986	Ontario
	Negotiating Towards Equality – Paid Maternity Leave	--	Ontario
	OSSTF Affirmative Action Project Update	1985	Ontario
	OSSTF Membership Summary (1986)	1986	Ontario
	OSSTF Status of Women Membership Survey 1985	1985	Ontario
	OSSTF Status of Women Membership Survey 1985: Conclusions and Recommendations	1985	Ontario
	OSSTF Urges Amend this Pay Equity Legislation (Update) – October 1986	1986	Ontario
	Reflections of an Ex-Status of Women Committee Member (Forum) – December 1982	1982	Ontario
	Statement on sexual harassment	--	Ontario
	Status of Women Committee – One Year Later!	1982	Ontario
	Ten years later… Exploding the Myths	1985	Ontario
	The Effect of Sexism on the Career Development of Teachers	1976	Ontario
	What OSSTF Members Need to Know About Negotiating Child-Related Emergency Leave	--	Ontario
	Women in Teaching (Forum) – April 1981	1981	Ontario