A Leaven of Ladies: A History of the Calgary Local Council of Women

In spite of emphatic opinions of the male establishment, the determined women workers of the Calgary Local Council of Women forged ahead, working "because they felt they must" to better their community. A Leaven of Ladies chronicles the 85-year history of this group of upstanding, moral and courageous women, whose efforts have not only succeeded in bringing about a number of firsts for women, both in Calgary and Canada, but whose ongoing work helped bring enduring changes to the face of Canadian society. Some of the Local council's most outstanding accomplishments include leading roles in the election of Calgary's first woman school trustee, Annie Foote; the election of Canada's first alderwoman, Annie Gale; the appointment of Alice Jamieson as the first woman Magistrate of a Juvenile Court in the British Empire; the petition for appointment of women to Calgary's police force; bringing enfranchisement to women in Calgary, Alberta and in all of Canada, as well as in changing the constitution to include women as persons under the law; efforts to change the laws regarding matrimonial property in divorce and separation to reflect more in women's favor through efforts on behalf of Irene Murdoch in her celebrated divorce case.