School Teachers Fight for Better Salaries - Ottawa, Ontario - Artistically Decorated Utility Boxes on Waymarking.com

Women teachers from Hintonburg and Westboro played a key role in a 1918-1919 campaign for higher salaries. They sought to create a better future for themselves and for public education in Ottawa.

The teachers, both women and men are posing for a photograph in front of their school. They appear resolute and committed to the position they hold and will not be deterred from seeking higher wages in spite of the many who may have opposed such a request.

"Ottawa Journal, 4 October 1918, page 14, column 5.

In October 1918, the female teachers of the Ottawa Public School Board launched a campaign to improve their salaries. Two months later, female English lay teachers of the Separate School Board came forward with the same request. Over the next year, female teachers faced both successes and setbacks in their fight for fair pay and recognition.

The wartime economy had drastically increased the cost of living in Ottawa. It was estimated to have doubled from 1914 to 1919. Meanwhile, teachers had received few to no pay raises over the war years. This affected women teachers particularly, since they were paid far less than men—sometimes receiving half the salary of a man in the same rank and position. Although “equal pay for equal work” was a popular theory, school board trustees, who were almost all men, believed male teachers deserved more money because they were more in demand.

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Title of the Art: Schools teachers fight for better salaries Year Decorated: 2019 Name of Artist: Not listed

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