1878 – Association for the Advancement of Women in the US notes that the 1870 census there erred because to neglect the home economy assumes that women’s work has no effect on the causes or increase of wealth

1872 – Married Women’s Property Act – women for the first time had the right to their own money

1881 – Susan B. Anthony argues that woman has been the great unpaid laborer of the world. She is frustrated by the ignorance and indifference of the majority of women about their status and rights..

1884 – in Ontario a married woman could now own property and sell it without consulting her husband.

1888  - in the US the Society for the Study of Child Nature was formed. It was believed that raising children is not just a matter of supervision or of instinct but skills are required.

1883- Lillie Blake suggests that women who rise early, cook, wash, clean, mend, do housework still face struggles when their husbands talk of supporting the wives.

1882 – Toronto Labour Council supports equal pay for equal work

1884 – Ontario Factory Act – a maximum 60 hour work week is established for women and children

1885- Dominion Franchise Act – No women could vote. Eligible voters had to be male and property owners. Later unmarried female property holders won the right to vote. Married women with property did not get this right until 1888 (married women are a historically disadvantaged group even among women)

1893- New Zealand granted women the right to vote.

1893 – The National Council of Women forms in Canada (NCWC) as a nonpartisan organization ultimately arguing for fairer taxes and in 1990 for housework to be included in the census

1893 – Domestic science was a public school course in 32 Canadian cities.  McGill University offered a degree of Bachelor of Household Science in 1918 (homemaking was viewed as a skill)

1895 – Amelia Bloomer in “On Housekeeping- Woman’s Burdens” argues that the coking, washing and sewing be done cooperatively to relive mothers of these burdens and to ‘give them time for self-improvement and the care and culture of their children”

1895 – Toronto school board refuses to hire women over 30 or married women.

1896 – Harriet Beecher Stowe in “The Minister’s Wooing” argues that woman is the spiritual overseer of the family and she should be selfless

1896- Dr. Holt in “The Care and Feeding of Infants’ says that raising children requires training and that instinct is not enough.

1897 – in the US the National Congress of Mothers forms- mothers learn from experts how to parent. Mrs. Theodore Birney, president says that intelligent parenthood is vital for the race and that’ to attain it is as well worth our effort and attention as the study of Greek, Latin, higher mathematics, medicine, law or any other professions”

1897 – in the US the National Congress of Parents and Teachers formed to improve education about parenting

1897 – Adelaide Hoodless of the Women’s Institute, Canada argues that girls need an education in order to be good homemakers

1897 – in Ontario a married woman for the first time can sign contracts whether or not she owns property

1898 – Charlotte Perkins Gilman writes “Woman and Economy”.   noting that the labor of women i the home enables men to produce more wealth She feels that women are economic factors in society.    Others however treat housewives as only consumers of goods, parasitic on society.

1898 – Elizabeth Cady Stanton in “Eighty Years and More’ says that mother hood is the most important of all professions but not enough attention is given to training women for it.

Karl Marx – argued that women should be out of the home earning wages. He wanted mundane household chores to be socialized.  When the birth rate dropped among the poor workers however, he added in 1900 an allowance for those who had children in order to give them maternity leave)

1900-05 – in Canada SC vs Mabel French- the court ruled that Ms. French could not become a barrister because as a woman she was not a person

1900 – In Canada unmarried women may vote for school trustees in some provinces. (married women remained a historically disadvantaged group)

1900 – Married Women’s Property Act – the wife is seen as jointly responsible with the husband for the support of children  (the term ‘support’ may include services and child-rearing)

1901 – 70% of the paid workforce in teaching, dressmaking, housekeeping, millinery and nursing is made up of women

1902 – Australia gives women the vote

1905 – In England – Christabel Pankhurst and Annie Kenney were arrested for  unfurling a ‘Votes for Women ‘banner and causing a disturbance. They accepted a prison sentence rather than paying a fine. Emmeline Pankhurst mother of Christabel, joined with her daughter to form the Women’s Political and Social Union

1906 – Finland gave women the vote

1907- Julia Ward Howe argued that women deserve higher education and roles in public life and that women are especially gifted in helping others. She said that raising children expands a woman’s potential for happiness

1907 – The Senate and the House of Commons in Canada debate whether to allow women to participate in the national pension plan and Sir Richard Cartwright argues for inclusion but does not win.

1907- Maria Montessori in Rome organizes a small school for children who have been left unsupervised in a tenement.  She designs material to develop the senses, language, reading, writing.

1908- first pension legislation in Canada – for families of soldiers injured or killed.

1910 – the first woman’s pilot’s license is given out – to French Baroness de Laruche

1911 – Marion Crane in  “Women in Canada” argues that domesticity is work and that women who do not get decent working conditions should have the right to leave and men or husband.

1911 – in the US a Mother’s Pension was instituted for widowed women so they could still be home with their children.  (Illinois recommends that children of parents of worthy character, suffering from temporary misfortune and children of reasonable efficient and deserving mothers who are without support of the normal breadwinner..should be kept with their parents, such aid being given as may be necessary to maintain suitable homes for the rearing of children ( the state pays so mom can be home. In 2002 the state takes care of the kids and mom has to leave the home to earn money)

1911 – Alberta’s Dower Act requires that on the death of her husband, a woman gets one third of his estate

1913 – violent clashes in Britain between suffragettes and the law result in the death from a horse trampling of Emily Davison. Members of the Women’s Social and Political Union in Britain shout, chain themselves to railings, smash windows of government buildings and stage noisy protests. Some refuse to pay taxes or recognize court authority.

1913 – H. M. Swanwick in “The Future of the Women’s Movement” says that women’s equality involves equal opportunities to do the things women want to do and includes in this ‘their peculiarly feminine work, the work which men cannot do’. For such work she argues for more help, more training and more expenditure of public money.

1913 – Rural Municipalities in Canada allow women to vote but only men can hold office

1914 – organized labor groups in Canada argue for equal pay for men and women because of the disturbing trend of some employers to not hire men because women are cheaper

1914 – President Wilson of the US proclaims the first Mother’s Day to honor the work done by all mothers. Anna Jarvis has argued for such a recognition to bring families together after the Civil War.

1914 – Ellen Key in “The Renaissance of Motherhood” says a professional paid caregiver is not as good as the natural mother who is more attentive to the child’s development and who provides greater emotional support

1915- Nellie McClung in “In Times Like These” argues that no home can e happy when the poor mother is too tired to smile. She argues for help with chores so women can have the time and strength to raise their children. She notes’ We hear too much about the burden of motherhood and too little of its benefits” (she addresses the distinction between housework and child-rearing responsibilities). McClung also notes that many women are too self-effacing and do not claim their rights, saying “Women who set a low value on themselves make life hard for all women”  McClung argues for old age pensions, mothers’ allowances and public health nursing with free medical and dental treatment in schools.

1915 – Theodora Youmans of the Woman’s Suffrage Association of the US notes with anger government claims that women in the home don’t work, saying ‘The assumption that women however hard they work in the household do not support themselves but are supported by their husbands, that they earn nothing and own nothing – that assumption upon which all our property laws are based is so abominable that I cannot find words to express my opinion of it”

1916- Manitoba passes the Mothers’ Allowance Act – If a father is absent due to jail term, death, disability or insanity, the state provides funding so the mother can still be home to raise the children. Saskatchewan, Alberta, BC and Ontario soon after pass similar legislation

1916 – Marjory MacMurchy in “The Woman Bless Her” says that in Canada also homemaking and raising children have economic and social value. She notes “Although note yet recognized as occupations by the Census, the two most important women employments are homemaking and the care of children’

1916 – Singe mothers are given a small allowance in some Canadian provinces

as long as they were at one time married and have more than one child

1917- a minimum wage law was established for women in Alberta

1917 – In Saskatchewan women with property could hold public office (rights to women were originally based on property, age, character  and marital status. These conditions were only gradually withdrawn)

1917 – By the Wartime Elections Act in Canada the vote was given to women who had close relatives in the armed services

1918 – Canada – an income tax deduction is created for employees with dependent spouses (this is a shift from the assumption employers offer a family wage. It also is gender neutral. However the term’ dependent’ suggests the unpaid spouse is not contributing anything, even services)

1918 – British women win the vote is they are over 30 and own property.  8 ½ million British women are thereby eligible to vote, but few take advantage of the right at first.

1918 – Marie Stopes  in Britain writes “Wise Parenthood” advocating birth control. Marie Sanger in “Family Limitation” advocating birth control was charged with disseminating obscene literature.

1918 – women in Canada (except in Quebec) get the right to vote

1918 –30 Many employers in Canada paid an allowance to married but not single employees, instead of a general wage allowance. This fund helped pay for family-related expenses. Later employers were required to pay into a fund that was used to help pay birth bonuses, nursing allowances and family allowance.

1918- Canada – by the Child Tax Exemption some costs of child-rearing were recognized, as was the social value of parenting

1919 – the British National Bureau of Economic Research defines income in the market economy as requiring money to change hands but it does include the value of the food produced in the home. (omission of unpaid labor . The principle that money must change hands continues in 2002 in Canada where child care also is not valued unless money changes hands)

1919 – Britain – by the Sex Disqualification(Removal) Act – women could now enter professions formerly for men only

1920 – in Canada a mother’s allowance is established in many provinces but only for mothers in distress.

1920 – in the US by the 19^th Amendment, women got the right to vote

1920 – Dr. Augusta Stowe Gullen in “Should Husbands Pay Their Wives Salaries?” writes that the homemaking work of a wife increases a man’s earning capacity and that she is in effect his ‘business partner’. She lobbies government to declare a wife an equal partner in a marriage, with a definite income. The National Council of Canada debates the issue.

1920 – in Alberta under the Infants Act – for the first time mothers as well as fathers become joint and equal guardians of their children. In Saskatchewan mothers are automatic guardians of children under age 14 and fathers are guardians of children over age 14)

1920 – Eleanor Raylor warns that women’s movements that ignore mothers’ rights invite failure.

1921 – in BC- maternity leave is granted, for 6 weeks.

1922- Alberta’s Married Women’s Act for the first time gives a woman absolute independence in her own financial and legal dealings (this may have been for unmarried women only)

1923 – Arnold Gesell in “The Preschool Child” emphasizes early childhood as a pivotal time for education

1923 – By Canada’s Bank Law the amount of money a married woman could deposit was raised to a maximum of $2,000.

1923 – UN passes a 5 part Declaration on the Rights of the Child

1923 – an amendment to the constitution to give ‘equality of rights’ to women, the Equal Rights Amendment, is introduced but not passed. It has been introduced in nearly every session of congress since, but by 2002 has still  not passed.

1925- Agnes MacPhail, Canadian Member of Parliament states that women must be given economic freedom within the home.  (the mechanism of such recognition varies. Some argue for salaries for wives)

1926 – Jean Piaget in “The Language and Thought of the Child” tracks development of intelligence through four main stages from zero to 15 years

1926-30 New Zealadn has a minimum salary to cover expenses of the earner supporting a family with two children. Extra bonuses are given for more than two children.

1927- Canada passes a pension act to assist provinces to give a pension to the elderly at  age 70.

1928 – Dr. John Watson in “Psychological Care of Infant and Child” argued that mothers may not be the best ones to raise their own children. He questioned whether children should even know their parents and advocated instead a ‘scientific’ way of raising children, “programming” the young to fit into the culture. He argued that parents should not hug or kiss their chidren.

1929 – Five Canadian Women (Emily Murphy, Louise McKinney, Nellie McClung, Irene Parlby and Henriette Muir Edwards) refuse to accept the Supreme Court ruling against them and take their plea to the Privy Council in England which rules that women are persons and can take roles in public life including in the Senate.  The recognition of women as legal  ‘persons’ became known as the Persons Case. (Edwards v. A. G. Canada)

1929 – Hildegard Kneeland observed that letting women enter the paid professions with men did not solve the dilemma back home of assuming homemakers were financially dependent,

1929 – in Canada a committee is set up to study having a national Family Allowance

1930 – in France a wage allowance is paid to encourage mothers to remain at home to care for their children. It is to recognize ‘la mere au foyer”

1930 – in Canada married women were for the first time allowed the right to control their own wages and not have to consult with their husbands

1930 – New Brunswick allowed women to hold elected office.

1930- in the US the Social Security Act Aid to Dependent Children provided a mother’s pension of sorts so war widows could still be with their children

1938- the League of Nations tallies numbers who are gainfully employed and ignores housework

1935 – the US passes a Social Security Act to help families with dependent children

1933 –45 – in the US nurseries are funded to encourage women to enter the paid work force during the depression

1938- public assistance to the poor is given not in cash but in food and clothing and is provided on an emergency basis only, usually by private charities and local municipalities.

1939- In three days in Britain nearly a million children were moved from British towns and cities to safer rural locations. Some went with mothers and others went alone. Those who provided accommodation for such children were paid an allowance per child. (rights for women, when granted were also granted piecemeal- right to vote, to hold public office, to own property, to manage one’s own money, to be legal guardians of children)

1939 – Child care centers were set up to encourage women to join the paid labor force during the war. In the US women were encouraged to work in defense plants. In Canada in 1942 the federal government passes an order in council to have cost sharing with the provinces to establish such daycares.

1940’s Betty Friedan observed that it was suddenly common to blame a mother’s influence for ‘every case history of the troubled child, alcoholic , suicidal, schizophrenic, psychopathic, neurotic adult, impotent, homosexual male, frigid promiscuous female”

1940- John Bowly, British psychiatrist argues that each child should have a warm and continuous relationship with a parent or parent-substitute in order to have mental health

1940 – Harriot Stanton Blatch in “Challenging Years” argues that motherhood but be given an endowment “Setting her free will repay the world”

1940 – Unemployment Insurance act in Canada keeps benefits at 50% of the lowest paying job  in order to encourage recipients to re-enter paid work soon. This proves however to be a hazard to health of recipients who are in long-term need. (the amount is raised in 1971 to 2/3 of wage)

1940 – Unemployment Insurance Act clarifies division of powers so that the provinces are responsible for the unemployed who can not be expected to find paid jobs, the ‘deserving poor’ such as seniors, single parents, the disabled – while the federal government has responsibility for the employable community. In 1956 federal government shares 50% of costs of administering unemployment benefits

1943- Dr. David Levy suggests that bad parenting can consist of extremes of overprotectiveness or overpermissiveness.  He suggested that people likely to look inside baby carriages of others are likely to be overprotective parents.

1943 – the Marsh Report in Canada suggests that children deserve social security

1944 – Family allowance was started in Canada as an alternative to raising the general level of wages and to ease the transition from war to peace in terms of a family’s purchasing power.   The Earl of Athlone, Governor General says it is ‘to aid in ensuring a minimum of well-being to the children of the nation and to help gain for them a closer approach to equality of opportunity in the battle of life”.   The allowance was given to families with incomes under $1200 per year and amounted to $5 per child per month under age 6 and $8 per month for older children to age 16 (the family allowance existed in Canada until the mid 1990s. It has been replaced by a child benefits package which is quite different- non universal, clawed back for those on welfare, of decreasing size not increasing as the child gets older, and based not on the number of children but on total household income regardless in some cases of number of children ) In Quebec the cheque originally was sent to fathers until pressure from Therese Casgrain forced the premier to change this so mothers got the cheque.