Lola Lange facts for kids

Lola M. Lange (born in 1922, died on December 25, 2013) was a Canadian woman who worked for equal rights for women, especially those living in the countryside. She was also a member of a special group called the Royal Commission on the Status of Women. This group looked into how women were treated in Canada.

Early Life and Important Work

Lola Lange grew up in Edmonton, Alberta. She loved music from a young age. She became a talented pianist and organist.

In 1943, she married Ottomar Lange. They moved to his family farm near Claresholm. Life on the farm was very different for Lola. It was quiet and far from cities. There wasn't much music in Claresholm. This was a big change for her.

Since she missed music, she found new hobbies. She took art classes. She also joined groups for people living in the countryside. These groups included 4-H and the Alberta Farm Wives' Union. Lola and Ottomar had three daughters between 1944 and 1953.

Working for Women's Rights

In 1967, a bank called the Bank of Montreal gave Lola a special grant. This money helped her study how more education could help farmers. Her research and her work with rural groups caught the attention of the Canadian government.

The government was forming the Royal Commission on the Status of Women. This commission was created to study the challenges women faced in Canada. Lola was asked to join the commission. She would represent the interests of women living in rural areas.

Lola said that Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson called her directly to invite her. She first planned to serve for one year. But she ended up working with the commission for four years.

The commission held meetings across Canada. They listened to women share their stories and concerns. Lola suggested they also set up a phone line. This helped women who lived far away or were too busy to attend the meetings.

The commission collected hundreds of responses from women all over Canada. Lola and another commissioner, Florence Bird, also traveled to Canada's northern territories. They interviewed Indigenous Canadians for the project.

In 1970, the commission shared a report about their findings. At first, there were no copies of the report in Alberta or Saskatchewan. Lola worked hard to get the government to send more copies. Thanks to her and the other commissioners, nearly 20,000 copies of the report were eventually sold.

Lola later felt that her work on the commission helped her grow. She developed her own identity as a woman. This was important to her, not just being seen as a wife or a mother.