The 52: Stories of Women Who Transformed Toronto
52% of Torontonians are women. It's time we tell their
Image: Myseum of Toronto.
Shadd Cary left a lasting legacy of abolition and education in Toronto’s fight for racial equality and social justice.
1823 - 1893 | Abolitionist, Educator, and Publisher
Mary Ann Shadd Cary was born in Delaware to abolitionist parents. She moved to Pennsylvania at the age of 10, where she attended school and became a teacher. Active in the Underground Railroad, she and her family moved to Ontario in the 1850s after the passage of the Slave Fugitive Act. Shadd Cary became the first Black woman publisher in North America and the first woman publisher in Canada, founding and editing The Provincial Freeman in 1853. She also established a racially integrated school for Black refugees in Windsor, Canada.
Shadd Cary left a lasting legacy of abolition and education in Toronto’s fight for racial equality and social justice.
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The 52: Stories of Women Who Transformed Toronto
52% of Torontonians are women. It's time we tell their stories.
Marcus Garvey and the UNIA
Learn how --
Winners & Losers
Sports Histories of Toronto
Meet The 52
Explore the full list of 52 remarkable women that make up the foundation of our multi-year project.
Bianca Andreescu
Bianca Andreescu has raised the global profile of tennis for Canadians. As one of the youngest winners of a Grand Slam singles title, Andreescu is the highest-ranked Canadian in Women’s
Beatrice Worsley
Beatrice Worsley is recognized as Canada’s first female computer scientist. Her lifetime of research and work in the field were at the forefront of Canada’s burgeoning computer science sector.
Menaka Thakkar
Menaka Thakkar established Canada’s first professional Indian dance company in 1978. Thakkar blended different cultural dance styles to co-create a performance called “East Meets West” in which she bridged cultural
Kathleen Taylor
Kathleen Taylor breaks ground no matter what industry she stands in. An accomplished business leader, her career continues to break barriers and light the way for women at major corporate
Emily Stowe
Emily Stowe was a founder of the Canadian Women’s Suffrage Association and the first female physician to publicly practice medicine in Ontario.
Min Sook Lee
Min Sook Lee is an industry-recognized filmmaker who advocates for social justice at the intersection of art and social change through her films and professorship at OCAD University.