Kathleen Margaret Macpherson

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Walker (1913 – 19 August 1999) was a Canadian feminist known for her views on nuclear disarmament, as well as being banned from the United States of America for her views.

Early life

Macpherson was born in Uxbridge, England in 1913. After her father died in 1917, the family moved to Branksome. There, Macpherson's mother remarried in 1920 and the family moved to Bedford. Her mother passed away in 1933.

Career

After completing school in 1932, she began training in

physiotherapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patient ...

St. Thomas' Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. It is one of the institutions that compose the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foun ...

and completed her training in 1934. She moved to Montreal, Canada in 1935 to work as a physiotherapist after working five months in Selly Oak. Her activism began in the 1950s with her work with the Association of Women Electors in Toronto. In 1960, Macpherson was a founding member of the

Canadian Voice of Women for Peace Canadian Voice of Women for Peace, also known as the Voice of Women or VOW, is a Canadian anti-nuclear pacifist organization that was formed in 1960. The organization was created in response to an article in which Lotta Dempsey, a journalist for t ...

, serving as president for a number of years. On behalf of the organization, she took a trip to Hanoi to voice opposition to the Vietnam War and arranged for Vietnamese women to visit Canada. In the late 1960s, she was consulted by the

Royal Commission on the Status of Women The Royal Commission on the Status of Women was a Canadian Royal Commission that examined the status of women and recommended steps that might be taken by the federal government to ensure equal opportunities with men and women in all aspects of ...

. In 1971, Macpherson was one of the founding members of the

National Action Committee on the Status of Women The National Action Committee on the Status of Women was a Canadian feminist activist organization. History It was founded in 1971 as a pressure group to lobby for the implementation of the 167 recommendations made in the Royal Commission on ...

; she also served as president from 1977 to 1979. She was also one of the founders of Women for Political Action. She unsuccessfully ran for election with the NDP in the

York East York East was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada at different times. It was located in the province of Ontario. History The first federal riding of York East was created by the British North America Act ...

federal elections in 1972, 1974 and 1980. In 1982, Macpherson was named a member of the Order of Canada. Her writings have appeared in publications including ''Canadian Forum'', '' Canadian Women Studies'', and ''Chatelaine''.

Personal life

In 1941, Macpherson moved to

Fredericton, New Brunswick Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

and met political scientist C.B. Macpherson the following year while he was teaching at the University of New Brunswick. In 1943, they married and later had three children, Susan, Stephen, and Shiela. They later settled in Toronto. She published a memoir in 1994 age the age of 80, titled ''When in Doubt, Do Both: The Times of My Life''.

Death

Macpherson passed away on 19 August 1999 in Toronto after suffering from cancer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macpherson, Kay 1913 births 1999 deaths Canadian feminists Canadian feminist writers 20th-century Canadian women writers Anti-nuclear activists English feminist writers English feminists Members of the Order of Canada People from Uxbridge People from Branksome, Dorset People from Bedford English emigrants to Canada 20th-century Canadian women politicians Canadian pacifists New Democratic Party of Canada politicians Canadian physiotherapists Anti–Vietnam War activists