Fitting In?


Changing Values and Identities in Canadian Women’s Uniforms
1945-1980



About
Historical Background
Acknowledgments

Uniforms:
1. Gymnastics, 1945-1955
2. Graduation, 1948 
3. Domestic Service, 1950s
4. Royal Canadian Air Force (W.D), 1953
5. TTC Guide, 1955
6. Nursing, 1950s- 1960s
7. Expo 67’ Canadian Pavillion, 1967
8. PWA Flight Attendent, 1971
9. CN Tower Jumpsuit, 1976
10. Unitarian, 1950s -1980s
11. Tim Hortons, 1970s



Historical Background
CN Tower uniform from the FRC. Photo courtesy of  Kirsten Mann

Fitting In? looks at a time of change and progress for many women in Canada.Following the end of World War II, a large percentage of Canadian women were pushed out of the skilled jobs they had taken during the war and were expected to happily return to domestic work. Within the succeeding decades, a growing number of women re-entered the workforce, this time in better-paying and more prestigious roles. This shift happened at an accelerated pace because of several factors including the rise of second-wave feminism, access to birth control, new technology, and the growing demands of capitalism. All of these influences opened up new job opportunities for the average woman by the 1980s and allowed many women to delay parenting to lengthen their stay in full-time jobs. By 1981, at the tail end of my study, 40.3% of the Canadian workforce were women compared to only 21.9% twenty years earlier.

Talking about work in Canada is especially relevant in 2025, as this country deals with heightened political and economic challenges. As uniforms show the inclusion of individuals and the values of a group, women in uniforms can be a powerful symbol of their growing role in large organizations. When you look at the uniforms in this exhibit, consider how they reflect the world they belonged to. When looking at uniforms today, think about how they are a product or maybe even a contradiction to the climate they exist in.References:
  1. Canada, Department of Labour. Women at Work in Canada: a fact book on the female labour force. Queen's Printer and Controller of Stationery, 1964. 
  2. Ewing, Elizabeth. Women in Uniform: Through the Centuries. B.T. Batsford Ltd. London & Sydney, 1975.
  3. Ferrao, Vincent. “Paid Work”. Women in Canada: A Gender-based Statistical Report. Statistics Canada, 2010.
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