Gloria Baylis, originally from Barbados, was a Canadian civil rights activist, registered nurse and entrepreneur. She won the first case ever in Canada to allege employment discrimination based on race. On October 4, 1965, when Gloria won the case, it was the first time in Canadian history that an organization was found guilty of employment discrimination based on race. Read her full story here:
Born to Antoinette and Reynold Clarke in Barbados on June 29, 1929, Gloria migrated to England and trained as a nurse and midwife. She worked at the Kingston General Hospital from 1948 to 1951 and at the Chiswick Maternity Hospital from 1951 to 1952; she was also a member of the Myddleton Square Nursing Association. In 1952, Gloria relocated to Montreal, where she met and married Richard Baylis, after which they had 4 children.
Over the years, Gloria worked several jobs to gain experience and advance her career, and one day, in the fall of 1964, Gloria Baylis made her way to the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in downtown Montreal, hoping to apply for a part-time nursing position advertised in a local newspaper for which she was very much qualified. However, she was informed that the position had been filled, but when she called the personnel office anonymously the next day, she was told that the position was vacant and they were accepting applications – this was also confirmed by subsequent investigation. Upset at the apparent discrimination, Gloria planned to go to the hotel to give them a piece of her mind, but she was persuaded to bid her time. You see, a new law in Quebec had recently gone into effect. This law stipulated that any distinction, exclusion or preference based on race, colour, sex, religion, national extraction or social origin, which nullified or impaired the equality of opportunity or treatment in employment or occupation, constituted discrimination with respect to employment.
Realizing that her case was a test for the new legislation, Gloria Baylis filed a complaint, and by doing so, she initiated the first court case in Canada to allege employment-related discrimination based on race. The presiding judge found that Gloria had been treated differently from all other applicants, justifying her complaint of discrimination. This, combined with all other evidence, proved a victory for her, and she won the case. When Gloria Baylis won the case on October 4, 1965, it was a significant moment in Canadian history. It was the first time an organization was found guilty of racially based discrimination practices as par employment. The impact of Gloria’s victory was lauded and celebrated, thus setting a precedent for future cases and strengthening the fight against discrimination. The Queen Elizabeth Hotel appealed for the next eleven years, arguing that the legislation was unconstitutional, but the initial decision was upheld by the Cour d’d’appelu Québec (Court of Appeal of Quebec) on January 19, 1977.
In an interesting turn of events, Frank Baylis- the second child of Gloria Baylis, who is a prominent businessperson and a former politician has been very vocal about his disapproval of Quebec’s 2019 secularism law, which bans public employees in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols such as a kippah, turban or hijab while on the job. Critics have argued the law restricts employment opportunities and forces people, especially Muslim women, to choose between their faith and career. Frank Baylis, who was just a little boy during his mother’s case against the Queen Elizabeth Hotel, only learnt to appreciate his mother’s sacrifice and resilience as he grew older and imbibed these traits in his career as a politician. He sees an obvious tie-in between his fight against the secularism law and his mother’s fight to end discrimination in employment during her time. He is optimistic that the secularist law will be banned in the future.
In his words, “It goes almost full circle, a young woman was denied a job because of the colour of her skin, and now you have young women denied jobs because of their religious beliefs.”
Gloria Baylis later retired from nursing and founded the Baylis Medical Company, which imports and distributes medical devices used in neurosurgery and cardiac electrophysiology. Her company also imported the first set of neuro-interventional catheters into the North American market. Since then, Baylis Medical Company has worked with hospitals to develop state-of-the-art specialized medical equipment. Gloria lived a beautiful and fulfilling life and died in 2017 after facing some health issues. She is remembered as a trailblazer who dared fight the daunting giant of racially based discriminatory employment during her time and who emerged victorious.
