For The First Time Ever, Gender Studies Will Be Part Of The Ontario Curriculum In September

This radical change is due to the efforts of five very determined women, and it didn't come easily. The quintet started their campaign eight years ago while students at the University of Western Ontario enrolled in eye-opening classes on women's history and feminist theory. The idea came to the women when they were discussing an assault that had been perpetrated against a high school girl at a party, resulting in the girl being ostracized while the boys were given high fives. In conceiving of the plan, Sarah Ghabrial, one of the women in the group told The Star, "We were trying to make life better for our younger selves.

They named their initiative “The Miss G Project for Equity in Education” after a young woman they’d learned about in class who had in the late 1800s been able to attend university and graduated at the top of her class. She died not long after and her doctor only referred to her as Miss G, leaving her forgotten and voiceless.

They received support from various officials including the education minister's office, which helped immeasurably in getting the plan in motion, albeit slowly.

The final draft of the course, which will be available to students in Grade 11, can be read here: http://www.curriculumreview.ca/SSandHumanities/index.html

For more on the Miss G Project visit: http://themissgproject.wix.com/index_new