In this short documentary, social activist and educator Rosemary Brown speaks to the high school students about the incidence of poverty among women. The film outlines the role of women in the work force and in society, as well as the causes of and possible solutions to the 'feminization of poverty.'
Warning (if any): Descriptions of violence/poverty as experienced by women
Brief “lesson launcher type” activity or a series of inquiry questions with a bit of context:
Lecture given at a university by Rosemary Brown, as she discusses the role of feminism and how it relates to the workforce and women’s potential to succeed in their careers.
60 percent of the poorest people in the country at the time of this film’s release were women. Is this still the case? What has changed?
The history of women being forced into poverty begins when women began to receive minimal payment for domestic work. Why has domestic work been undervalued and underpaid in our society?
After the war, why were men so quick to send women back into their “traditional roles”? What would be the value in keeping women out of the workforce?
In the film, they say that one in 10 teens in Toronto becomes pregnant before age 20; is this still true? How have we worked to fight this statistic? What is the correlation between teen pregnancy and poverty?
How progressive were these arguments at the time this documentary was released? Do young people still view feminism as an unpopular opinion? What has changed?