Canadian Workers

How did McLachlan attempt to bring women into the wage campaign in 1917, and how did this strategy reflect ideas about masculinity?

Women became the focus of J.B. McLachlan’s campaign for higher wages during 1917 in which there would have been, roughly, a 30 percent pay increase. After discussing it with the AMW, McLachlan set out to include women as part of the struggle so there could be a better understanding of the needs of workers and their families. Women were asked to write to McLachlan to provide information regarding an imaginary family budget. This budget had to include living expenses such as food and r

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McLachlan’s strategy to incorporate women into the struggle helps his quest for wage increases and labour changes.

In conclusion, through what has been just mentioned we are able to understand how and why McLachlan incorporated women into the wage campaign. The reason women were picked for McLachlan’s contest was because of their knowledge of money with respect to household expenses. This was McLachlan’s attempt to bring women into the wage campaign and it also changed the miners’ perception of women’s role in the home. Men were occupied working in the mines for ten hours a day while women took responsibility for managing the money. McLachlan also believed in this patriarchal norm that was part of society at the time.

Within the mining community, women became more recognised as an important asset to their well-being within the community. The main purpose of keeping women in the home was for them to take care of the children as well as tending to the house. It was not typical for a man of this time period to stay at home and not be the breadwinner of the family.