In a wide-ranging survey of Canadian feminism from the 1880s to the 1980s, Demanding Equality reveals a continuous, vibrant, and often contentious search for equality, autonomy, and dignity.

For one hundred years women fashioned different dreams of social transformation in their search for equality, autonomy, and dignity; yet what is Canadian feminism?

Demanding Equality offers illustrations of feminist thought and organizing from mid-nineteenth-century, Enlightenment-inspired writing to the multi-issue movement of the 1980s. Broadening our definition of feminism – and recognizing that its political, cultural, and social dimensions are entangled – Joan Sangster explores the different pathways pursued to gain equality. She challenges the popular “wave” theory, concluding that feminist activism was continuous, despite changing significantly across decades.

Demanding Equality presents a picture of a heterogeneous movement characterized by both alliances and fierce internal debates. This comprehensive rear-view look at feminism in all its political guises encourages a wider public conversation about what Canadian feminism has been, is, and should be.

"There are few, if any, historians better placed than Joan Sangster to write a history of a century of feminism in Canada... Demanding Equality is a book that is at once capacious in its scope and accessibly written." - Labour / Le Travail

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Sangster’s precisely written yet wideranging book is a tour de force that chronicles the struggles for ‘equality, autonomy, and dignity’ in all of their rich complexity.

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"Demanding Equality is a formidable book, wide in scope, commendably readable, expansive in content, and convincing in analysis."

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"In Demanding Equality, Joan Sangster demonstrates the confidence and virtuosity of a well-seasoned scholar at the top of her game."

"[Demanding Equality] is an impressively balanced account that will undoubtedly become required reading for gender and women's history classes across the country." - JACANZ, Vol. 1, Issue 2