CBC Archives

Clip #6 on the topic Equality First: The Royal Commission on the Status of Women, on the CBC Radio and Television Archives Web site includes a reference to an Alberta billboard. In 1968, the billboard read “Be kind to your wife. Tell her what happened at work today.” Ask students to explain what this quotation implies about a “woman’s place” in 1968, then elicit their opinions about the statement “a woman’s place is in the home.”

Direct students to the topic Equality First: The Royal Commission on the Status of Women, on the CBC Radio and Television Archives Web site. Have them spend at least one hour viewing the material, including the Additional Clip. As they view, students should take notes about what is said about “a woman’s place,” and who says it.

Using their notes, students can prepare a written response to the arguments they have encountered. Students can consider whether their opinion has changed or become stronger after viewing the clips, and whether they found any of the arguments particularly convincing or outrageous.

Students can display their essays for others to read, or present them orally to the class. Encourage class discussion of the responses, including whether arguments are persuasive, and whose arguments they agree with and why.

Students can list in their notebooks all the chores that are done in their home. They can then indicate which of the chores are done by males and which by females. Ask the students to consider if the chores represent traditional or non-traditional roles for men and women, whether they think those roles are important, and why.