Readers often comment that Herstory's pages are widely varied. We're pleased that they notice, because we work hard to achieve that variety.
We aim for an overall balance throughout the calendar. We make sure Canada's different geographical regions and diverse cultures are represented, and we also make sure we reflect the enormous range of disciplines and fields in which Canadian women excel.
We even take care to balance the number of living women we profile against the number of women from Canada's past.
There's more to creating Herstory, however, than researching and writing individual pages. The order in which they appear in the calendar reflects our intention to vary both its appearance, and our readers' experiences from week to week.
For instance, the 2005 edition of Herstory featured a page on Canadian Press reporter Margaret Ecker Francis, the only woman present at the signing of unconditional surrender to end WWII, followed by a photo page depicting three women and their children enjoying a breather on the grass in front of their sod house, near Camrose, Alberta, in the 1890s.
A page profiling a young scientist with her eye on the future of the human race was preceded by a page celebrating the life-time achievements of a multi-talented centenarian.
The Herstory calendar is like no other desk calendar in Canada. Its pages are filled with interesting stories of women from all walks of life, who have made and are making Canada a better place. It is an inspiration to those of us who need a little boost as females in this male dominated nation of ours. Each of my Herstory calendars is kept in my library and used as a valuable resource. Marion Willoughby
We alternate photo pages with those with less visual content and try to include a few topic pages, or short articles that address issues relevant to the lives of Canadian women.
If we learn of significant dates--birthdays, special honours, particular moments--in the lives of our subjects, we try to place those pages in relevant weeks.
One page of the calendar remains focused from year to year. In the week of 6 December, the date in 1989 on which 14 female engineering students were massacred at the University of Montreal's School of Engineering, we remember the realities of violence against women.
With a few tangents, the pleasant exercise of deciding the order of Herstory's pages takes about two hours, supported by tea and goodies.
To find out who's made Herstory over the years you can consult an abbreviated version of the SWCC's own index. Consult the Herstory Index >>