Perspective: Gender & Generation Gap

Canadian industrial and social changes helped change the urban environment, where service sector employment now predominates and educational demands are high. The urban economy now seeks women and men, a fact which places some immigrant groups that follow traditional family organization under extreme stress. The rapidly changing economy and the rise of women's rights also significantly affected the experience of first- and second-generation immigrants.

For many immigrant families, women's paid labour outside the home became an important factor in wealth accumulation. This pattern was particularly evident within the Italian community where women, out of necessity, took on employment to supplement their husbands' paycheques. In traditional southern Italian society, gender roles conflicted with such breadwinning as well with North America's changing expectations of women after the 1960's.

1967-Present:
Quebec & Immigration Page three

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