Federation of Women Teachers' Associations of Ontario
Encyclopedia
The Federation of Women Teachers' Associations of Ontario (FWTAO) was an association founded in 1918 to promote the interests of women elementary school
teachers in Ontario
, and continued to represent women teachers until merging in 1998 with the Ontario Public School Teachers' Federation to form the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario
.
which had begun forming in 1888 in several Ontario cities. They worked for better salaries and job security.
In the early years, according to a history by Barbara Richter in the newsletter of the successor organization, FWTAO organizers risked dismissal from their jobs.
With the passage of the Teaching Profession Act of 1944, all elementary school teachers
in the public school system in Ontario were required to be members of the FWTAO. This
empowered the FWTAO to carry out its work. The FWTAO worked to counter discrimination
against women; for example, even after the passage of legislation in 1951 requiring equal pay
for work of equal value, married male teachers were still receiving an additional allowance. There were strict social expectations of women teachers; a 1965 study found that women teachers were expected by parents not to smoke, place bets, run for political office, teach after marriage or any of a number of other activities; there were strict expectations that they stop work if visibly pregnant. The FWTAO worked to change these expectations.
The FWTAO lobbied for affirmative action
programs and used scholarships to help individual women further their careers; they also gave scholarships to young women in developing countries. They developed curricula, which tended to follow a democratic philosophy of education, promoting cooperation rather than competition.
The Ontario Public School Teachers Federation, formerly the Ontario Public School Men Teachers Federation, made repeated attempts since the late 60s to merge with the FWTAO, including three court challenges. In 1994, the Ontario Human Rights Commission
upheld a complaint by a female principal that the requirement that she be a member of FWTAO was discrimination. A decision was made in 1996 to merge the organizations, and in 1998 they did so, forming the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario.
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
teachers in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, and continued to represent women teachers until merging in 1998 with the Ontario Public School Teachers' Federation to form the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario
Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario
The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario is a labour union representing all public elementary school teachers in the Canadian province of Ontario. The union has 66 local chapters in the province, and over 76,000 members...
.
History
The FWTAO was formed as a coalition of local women teacher's associationswhich had begun forming in 1888 in several Ontario cities. They worked for better salaries and job security.
In the early years, according to a history by Barbara Richter in the newsletter of the successor organization, FWTAO organizers risked dismissal from their jobs.
With the passage of the Teaching Profession Act of 1944, all elementary school teachers
in the public school system in Ontario were required to be members of the FWTAO. This
empowered the FWTAO to carry out its work. The FWTAO worked to counter discrimination
against women; for example, even after the passage of legislation in 1951 requiring equal pay
for work of equal value, married male teachers were still receiving an additional allowance. There were strict social expectations of women teachers; a 1965 study found that women teachers were expected by parents not to smoke, place bets, run for political office, teach after marriage or any of a number of other activities; there were strict expectations that they stop work if visibly pregnant. The FWTAO worked to change these expectations.
The FWTAO lobbied for affirmative action
Affirmative action
Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
programs and used scholarships to help individual women further their careers; they also gave scholarships to young women in developing countries. They developed curricula, which tended to follow a democratic philosophy of education, promoting cooperation rather than competition.
The Ontario Public School Teachers Federation, formerly the Ontario Public School Men Teachers Federation, made repeated attempts since the late 60s to merge with the FWTAO, including three court challenges. In 1994, the Ontario Human Rights Commission
Ontario Human Rights Commission
The Ontario Human Rights Commission was established in the Canadian province of Ontario on March 29, 1961 to administer the Ontario Human Rights Code...
upheld a complaint by a female principal that the requirement that she be a member of FWTAO was discrimination. A decision was made in 1996 to merge the organizations, and in 1998 they did so, forming the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario.