Book Review: University Women: A History of Women and Higher Education in Canada

Abstract

Sara MacDonald discusses the gradual inclusion of women into Canada's undergraduate student body at 19 universities and colleges (see Appendix 1) between 1870-1930.Through historical analysis, MacDonald aims to answer the book's central question: "Did the rapid adoption of coeducation work for or against the interests of women?" (p. 6).The book is framed around the argument that university education for women in Canada was radical because of its focus on coeducation, rather than through separate women's colleges. The differences between these two modes are highlighted as significant because "from the beginning, coeducation was tied not only to the much larger issue of women's work, but also more explicitly to competition with men for employment" (p. 2).While pointing to the use of gender theory as an analytical framework, MacDonald also addresses racial and class inequities, noting that "during the period covered by this book, the experience of schooling at all levels was determined by social class, and, for some, curtailed completely by their race or indigeneity" (p. 5-6). Although the bulk of the text focuses on white, middle-class Anglo-Canadian women who were among Canada's first female university students and graduates, MacDonald is clear in acknowledging that this group was both small and highly privileged.