Lawyer, activist, and former Chatelaine legal columnist Linda Silver Dranoff details her own trailblazing journey from a traditional 1950s childhood to the battlegrounds of the courts of law and the halls of power where she and a generation of women lawyers, supporting a larger feminist movement, championed the rights of Canadian women and families. Through a combination of memoir and social history, Dranoff brings to life the struggles around family law, pay and employment equity, violence against women, abortion rights, childcare, pension rights, political engagement, public policy, and access to legal justice.
From backroom battles to public and private protest, the stories are inspiring. Fairly Equal reminds us of the importance of remaining vigilant about our rights. Knowing what Dranoff’s generation of women lawyers and activists achieved, and how easily it can be taken away, we are encouraged in sisterhood and solidarity to ensure that the many hard-won gains of the feminist movement are maintained and expanded for the women who follow.
Linda Silver Dranoff, C.M., LSM is a lawyer, writer, and activist. As a lawyer she appeared at every level of court in a precedent-setting 38-year career. She had a 25-year stint as a columnist at Chatelaine and is the author of Every Canadian’s Guide to the Law. She has been an activist for the Family Law Act, appointed to the Order of Canada, and honored many times including a Governor General's Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case. She lives in Toronto.