Fifty Years of Substantive Equality for Women: Chronicling the Legacy of the National Association of Women and the Law (NAWL)

Abstract

The National Association of Women and the Law (NAWL) formed in 1974 as a network of women legal professionals dedicated to research, education, and women’s rights advocacy. This article uses historical records from the Women’s Archives at the University of Ottawa Library to highlight the impact and power of feminist law reform and to emphasize NAWL’s ongoing relevance. We will analyze NAWL’s interventions in important areas of law that deeply impact women’s substantive equality: labour and economic justice, violence against women, and constitutional law. First, we narrate how NAWL fought for pay equity and economic justice, and against the legal devaluation of women’s work. Then, we examine NAWL’s struggle against biased and prejudicial legislation, especially in cases involving violence against women. Finally, we recount NAWL’s influence on sections 15 and 28 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Ultimately, we conclude that despite NAWL’s early successes, feminist law reform remains an ongoing project crucial to promoting women’s substantive equality and ensuring rights and protections for the most vulnerable.