Clara Brett Martin

Clara Brett Martin (25 January 1874 – 30 October 1923) was a Canadian lawyer. She opened the way for women to become lawyers in Canada by being the first in the British Empire in 1897. Quotes about Clara Brett Martin Defying all predictions, the young Clara, who would later be pronounced attractive, graceful, and possessed of “treasured feminine charms,” majored in mathematics and graduated with a BA and high honours on 27 June 1890, at the age of 16. Backhouse, Constance (2005) Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. XV (1921–1930) Despite Martin's heroic trailblazing, not until the middle of the 20th century did significant numbers of women enter the legal profession in Canada. John D. Blackwell Clara Brett Martin Retrieved March 4, 2015 Despite the rejection, Martin persisted. Optimistically, or perhaps naively, she appealed to what she considered the "broad spirit of liberality and fairness" characteristic of the legal profession. Laura Neilson Bonikowsky Clara Brett Martin: Hero or Villain? Retrieved March 4, 2015 With the support of such influential people as Dr. Emily Stowe and Sir Oliver Mowat, Martin's appeal led to the passage of a provincial act allowing women to become solicitors. Laura Neilson Bonikowsky Clara Brett Martin: Hero or Villain? Retrieved March 4, 2015 Looking back at Martin's treatment by a patriarchal regime, it is abhorrent today that a woman could be denied personhood and thereby be barred from admittance to an organization for which she was well-qualified. Laura Neilson Bonikowsky Clara Brett Martin: Hero or Villain? Retrieved March 4, 2015 Martin was not a leader of the women's movement, but she worked diligently to promote opportunities for women. Laura Neilson Bonikowsky Clara Brett Martin: Hero or Villain? Retrieved March 4, 2015 External links Category:Lawyers from Canada Category:Women from Canada Category:Women in law Category:1874 births Category:1923 deaths Category:Women born in the 1870s