This course introduces students to women's position in Canada as political actors and provides gender-based analysis in relation to public policy and law in Canada. Students will study women's historical participation in and exclusion from policy decision-making processes, and evaluate the impact of feminism and women's activism on Canadian public policies. Using intersectional framework, the course will also examine different ways in which public policies can be made more responsive to gender and diversity concerns as well as the role public policy can play in overcoming gender inequalities. We will investigate key historical changes in public policies affecting Canadian women in such areas as family, workplace, education, poverty-welfare, sexuality and reproductive laws, immigration and refugee laws, and global issues. The course concludes with women's achievements in this area.