WOMEN WORKING FOR HEALTHY COMMUNITIES
By Ada Ducas & Janice Linton,
Neil John Maclean Health Sciences Library
Produced by the Manitoba Women’s Directorate in recognition of Women’s History Month, October 2001

CONCLUSION

Manitoba women have made significant contributions to health care throughout Manitoba’s history. The women profiled in this essay showed outstanding leadership and, in many cases, struggled to realize their goals. They not only worked for healthier communities; they also paved the way for their successors. Today, there are more opportunities than ever for women to work for healthier communities. Overall, women provide most of the health care services and support in Canada, with many working in nursing and allied health professions. Today, women can choose careers as physiotherapists, medical technologists, speech therapists, dieticians, dentists or dental hygienists, and doctors.

Where once it was difficult to pursue a career in medicine in Canada and almost impossible to be granted a license to practice, today there are endless opportunities for women to become physicians or specialists. Almost half of today’s medical school graduates in Manitoba are women. They are contributing to healthy communities as family physicians, surgeons, specialists, researchers, administrators, and educators. In 1987, three Aboriginal women (Judith Bartlett, Marilyn Cook, and Catherine Cook) graduated as physicians from the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Medicine, and are now recognized leaders in Aboriginal health care in Manitoba.

As we pay homage to the women in our shared history who pursued their dreams of helping others to lead healthier lives, we can also look forward to new opportunities and challenges in our own communities. Today, there are many paths we can take, and many ways in which we can draw on our individual dreams, passions, and energies to benefit those around us.

Bibliography

General Works
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Bramadat, Ina J. and Marion I. Saydak. "Nursing on the Canadian Prairies, 1900-1930: Effects of immigration." Nursing History Review, vol. I (1993):105-17.

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Dr. Charlotte Ross (1842-1916)
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Dr. Amelia Yeomans (1842-1913)
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Dr. Elizabeth Matheson (1866-1958)
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Dr. Margaret Ellen Douglas (1878-1950)
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Dr. Frances Gertrude McGill (1877-1959)
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Dr. Phyllis McAlpine (1942-1998)
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The Grey Nuns
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Margaret Scott (1855-1931)
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Anne G. Ross (1911-1998)
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Mary Speechly (1873-1968)
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Dr. Helen Glass (1917- )
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Grace Easter (1955-1986)
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ESSAY CONTENTS
Acknowledgements / Introduction
Physicians
Nurses, Health Care Advocates and Community Leaders
Conclusion / Bibliography