Gender discrimination still a problem, Winnipeg girls say on right-to-vote anniversary
'You can't be confident and be a girl without getting some backlash for it' says student
Manitoba students say inequality still exists, one century after many women won the right to vote in the province.
The Canadian Museum for Human Rights marked the 100th anniversary of some women getting the right to vote in Manitoba on Thursday, and several young female visitors said they're still being discriminated against.
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Laura Muzyka said she still gets catcalled on her way to school on a regular basis.
The Grade 12 student at Garden City Collegiate said she has also had negative attention for being a member of the school's feminism club.
Student Rhiannon Sloan sees inequality in wages as a form of discrimination. The Grade 9 College Beliveau student feels women aren't seen as intellectual equals to their male counterparts.
"The fact that women get paid less by the dollar compared to men, I think that's discrimination. That's not right," she said.
Also from College Beliveau, Janine Brown said discrimination comes in different forms and exists at all levels.
"If you're a woman of colour, you get discriminated against [and you also face discrimination] if you're a member of the LGBT community, or if you have a mental illness," she said.
"You can't be confident and be a girl without getting some backlash for it," she said.
Prominent female leaders also spoke at the event, including philanthropist Gail Asper, MLA Myrna Dreidger, activist and educator Jodie Layne, indigenous activist Leah Gazan as well as Shahina Siddiqui and Gail Stephens.
Not all women earned the right to vote or hold office on January 28, 1916. Many women – including indigenous women — were not able to vote until decades later.