According to dominant social norms and expectations of the time, men were considered the ‘breadwinners’ while women’s main role was to take care of the household. Surprisingly, this ideology was neither questioned nor challenged in Meredith’s Royal Commission proceeding nor in his final report . As noted by Storey (ibid), compared to men, women were not considered as valuable a part of the workforce and their work-related accidents, injuries and illnesses were not even considered to be of minor concern. “Worker’s Compensation did not take women into account in their roles as wives and members of the household” (From Invisibility to Equality Women Workers and the Gendering of Workers’ compensation in Ontario, 1900-2005, p.86) because the home was assumed to be their role and place in …show more content…
Consistent with this rationale, in his draft bill of Workmen’s compensation it was also noted that “…husbands of women workers killed on the job were to receive benefits only if it was determined that they were “invalids” or “physically or mentally incapable of earning.” (From Invisibility to Equality Women Workers and the Gendering of Workers’ compensation in Ontario, 1900-2005,