{"id":293668,"date":"2016-05-04T19:20:26","date_gmt":"2016-05-04T23:20:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/2016\/05\/there-are-more-places-to-celebrate-banknoteable-women\/"},"modified":"2025-08-28T15:27:29","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T19:27:29","slug":"there-are-more-places-to-celebrate-banknoteable-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2016\/05\/there-are-more-places-to-celebrate-banknoteable-women\/","title":{"rendered":"There are more places to celebrate #bankNOTEable women"},"content":{"rendered":"

Women are having a moment of sorts in Canada. We\u2019ve got parity in Cabinet, a year of maternity leave, access to birth control and abortions, and most of us have been voting for like, one hundred years. Holler.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m really impressed and buoyed by the\u00a0Change.Org-led campaign\u00a0<\/a>to get women back on Canadian currency, led by historian\u00a0Merna Forster<\/a>\u00a0(totally signed that petition!). But I can\u2019t get on board and cheer about the lone woman we\u2019re about to get on our currency. \u00a0A measly\u00a0one\u00a0<\/em>woman on\u00a0one<\/em>\u00a0banknote doesn\u2019t get us even close to catching up. Why aren\u2019t we pushing for parity here, like we are in other sectors? Perhaps we should be moving towards portraying a man and a woman\u00a0on every bill<\/strong>, so as to not displace the dudes we\u2019re used to, while introducing women alongside them.<\/p>\n

What else? The recently announced\u00a0long list<\/a>\u00a0of twelve Canadian women that will be considered by an\u00a0Advisory Council<\/a>\u00a0was bound by the comical and curious constraint that the woman nominated needed to have been dead for 25 years. This stipulation seriously restricted the pool of eligible women, especially given our country\u2019s relatively short history overall.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s not forget that in 2012, an icebreaker replaced images of the women\u2019s rights movement of the early 20th century on a new $50 bill or that focus groups that same year scrapped an Asian-looking scientist from an updated $100 bill. Real leadership, real “feminism” \u2013 whatever you want to call it \u2013 will mean getting beyond the superficial feel-goodness of a single banknote and extending the presence of historic Canadian women elsewhere in the public realm.<\/p>\n

But hey \u2013 the Bank of Canada received more than 26,000 submissions nominating more than 460 women.<\/p>\n

Here are some ways that government and some of our public institutions can honour the other 459.<\/p>\n

First,\u00a0Canada Post<\/a>\u00a0can regularly issue stamp sets celebrating historic Canadian women. They could even do it all year, \u201cbecause it\u2019s 2016.\u201d It\u2019s a simple move for the institution to execute and they have honoured women in the past<\/a>. In fact, they currently have\u00a0a collector\u2019s stamp on Women\u2019s Suffrage<\/a>. More, please. Maybe fewer\u00a0Star Trek stamps<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Next, as banking becomes increasingly digital for my millennial generation, banks should consider\u00a0customizing debit<\/a>\u00a0or credit cards, as is possible in the United States. For those out there that still use cheques, let\u2019s give them the option of a chequebook (binder?) full of amazing Canadian women that they can showcase while they pay their\u00a0bills<\/a>. Though banking habits are changing, personalization is one way for banks to differentiate themselves and cater to those that favour customization.<\/p>\n

The Royal Canadian Mint<\/a>\u00a0could issue collectible coins or some special-edition quarters, in addition to the \u201cwomen\u2019s right to vote<\/a>\u201d series they put out this year. If I can purchase a \u201cspecial edition set\u201d of the\u00a0Looney Tunes<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Batman vs. Superman<\/a>\u00a0(which I can), I should be able to score a set of outstanding Canadian women.<\/p>\n

Historica Canada<\/a>\u00a0has an excellent new Heritage Minute on Viola Desmond. They have 14 filed under \u201cwomen\u201d (I\u2019m including \u201cRural Teacher,\u201d \u201cNursing Sister,\u201d and \u201cMidwife\u201d). Out of 80 available online, that\u2019s 18%. Announce a series on Canadian women and ride the momentum of #BankNOTEable women, guys.<\/p>\n

In Ottawa, we can also review the names of our federal buildings. We might also need a \u201cWalk of Fame\u201d for great Canadian women. I mean, we have an entire museum dedicated to\u00a0hockey.<\/a><\/p>\n

In Toronto, TTC Metropasses or PrestoCards could feature great Toronto women for the year.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s see what we can do to nominate more women for the\u00a0Order of Canada<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Governor General’s Awards<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a public institution, but certainly a Canadian book publisher could buddy up with the Bank of Canada to release \u201cRad Canadian Women A-Z,\u201d\u00a0like this<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time to create more of a market for lauding outstanding ladies and to push other public institutions to champion their legacies as well.<\/p>\n

That said, I already see ladies everywhere in public spaces \u2013 but they are usually scantily clad and trying to sell me something dumb. I can\u2019t think of anything sexier or more Canadian than more of our public institutions wo-manning up and celebrating the many bank-note-able women that have shaped our country as well as hat-tipping the ones that are doing it every day.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t stop once the new bill comes out. We will all have to keep pushing for these representative interventions, just like these pioneering women busted up barriers for us.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Do you have something to say about the article you just read? Be part of the<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>Policy Options\u00a0<\/em>discussion, and send in your own submission. Here is a<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>link<\/em><\/a>\u00a0<\/em>on how to do it. |\u00a0Souhaitez-vous r\u00e9agir \u00e0 cet article ? <\/em>Joignez-vous aux d\u00e9bats d\u2019<\/em>Options politiques\u00a0<\/em>et soumettez-nous votre texte en suivant ces<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>directives<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Women are having a moment of sorts in Canada. We\u2019ve got parity in Cabinet, a year of maternity leave, access to birth control and abortions, and most of us have been voting for like, one hundred years. Holler. I\u2019m really impressed and buoyed by the\u00a0Change.Org-led campaign\u00a0to get women back on Canadian currency, led by historian\u00a0Merna […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":913,"featured_media":290715,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"article-status":[],"irpp-category":[],"section":[],"irpp-tag":[],"class_list":["post-293668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThere are more places to celebrate #bankNOTEable women<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2016\/05\/there-are-more-places-to-celebrate-banknoteable-women\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"There are more places to celebrate #bankNOTEable women\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Women are having a moment of sorts in Canada. We\u2019ve got parity in Cabinet, a year of maternity leave, access to birth control and abortions, and most of us have been voting for like, one hundred years. Holler. 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