A total of 461 iconic Canadian women met the initial qualifying criteria and an independent Advisory Council followed the selection process to produce a long list of 12 women and then a short list of five. On 8 December 2016, the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the Bank of Canada revealed that Viola Desmond will be featured on the new $10 note.
Bank NOTE-able
Viola Desmond
1914-1965 - Entrepreneur and Defender of Social Justice
A businesswoman turned civil libertarian, Viola Desmond built a business as a beautician and, through her beauty school, was a mentor to young black women in Nova Scotia. She is best known, however, for her courageous refusal, in 1946, to accept racial discrimination by sitting in a whites-only section of a New Glasgow movie theatre. Desmond was arrested and fined for “attempting to defraud the provincial government” of the 1-cent difference between the balcony seats (the “black section”) and the seats on the main floor. Her actions inspired later generations of black people in Nova Scotia and the rest of Canada.
Photo: Communications Nova Scotia
Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia
Shortlisted
E. Pauline Johnson (Tekahionwake)
1861-1913 - Poet
The daughter of a Mohawk chief and an Englishwoman, E. Pauline Johnson is best known for the poetry she wrote celebrating her Aboriginal heritage. During her career, Johnson adopted her Aboriginal grandfather’s name, Tekahionwake, meaning “double wampum.” Between 1892 and 1910, Johnson undertook a series of speaking tours in Canada, the United States and England and travelled across Canada giving poetry readings in many remote settlements that saw few other forms of entertainment. Throughout her travels Johnson’s recitations of patriotic poems and short stories featuring Canadian culture made her a popular ambassador for Canada.
Photo: Library and Archives Canada
Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia
Shortlisted
Elizabeth (Elsie) MacGill
1905-1980 - Engineer
Elizabeth MacGill was the first woman in Canada to receive a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering (University of Toronto, 1927) and a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering (University of Michigan, 1929). She was the first woman aircraft designer in the world and is perhaps best known as “Queen of the Hurricanes” for her work on the Hawker Hurricane fighter planes that were used during the Second World War and were instrumental in the Battle of Britain. MacGill headed the production and design of a winterized version of the aircraft, more than 1,400 of which were built under her leadership. An active feminist, she was president of the Canadian Federation of Business and Professional Women (1962-64) and was a member of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women.
Photo: Library and Archives Canada
Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia
Shortlisted
Fanny (Bobbie) Rosenfeld
1904-1969 - Athlete
A track and field athlete, Fanny Rosenfeld held Canadian records in the running and standing broad jump and in the discus. At the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, she took the silver medal in the 100-metre dash and was lead runner for the women’s 4 x 100 metre relay team that won gold in a record time of 48.2 seconds. She was also joint holder of the 11-second, 100-yard world record. Rosenfeld was voted Canada’s female athlete of the first half of the 20th century in 1950, and inducted to Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1955. After arthritis forced her into retirement, Rosenfeld entered the world of journalism and for 20 years wrote a sports column in the Globe and Mail.
Photo: Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia
Shortlisted
Idola Saint-Jean
1880-1945 - Suffragette and Activist
An actress, teacher and author, Idola Saint-Jean is primarily known as a feminist and pioneer in the fight for suffrage in Quebec. She led the efforts to obtain the right for Quebec women to vote in provincial elections (which was realized nearly 20 years after it was granted for federal elections). Saint-Jean was also the first woman from Quebec to run as a candidate in a federal election. Since 1991, the Fédération des femmes du Québec has given the Prix Idola-St-Jean to a woman or group of women who have improved the status of women and advanced the cause of feminism in Quebec.
Photo: Library and Archives Canada
Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia
Longlisted
Pitseolak Ashoona
c. 1904-1983 - Artist
An Inuit graphic artist, Pitseolak Ashoona is known for lively prints and drawings showing “the things we did long ago before there were many white men” and for imaginative renderings of spirits and monsters. Based in Cape Dorset, Northwest Territories (now Nunavut), she created several thousand drawings reflecting her love and intimate knowledge of traditional Inuit life. She told her story in the illustrated oral biography Pitseolak: Pictures out of My Life, which became a National Film Board animated documentary. She was elected a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1974.
Photo: Tessa Macintosh
Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia
Longlisted
Emily Carr
1871-1945 - Artist
Emily Carr was one of the pre-eminent Canadian painters in the first half of the 20th century—and perhaps the most original. Her bold canvases feature totem poles set in forests or on the sites of abandoned Aboriginal villages on Canada’s northwest coast and record the heritage of the Haida, Gitksan and Tsimshian peoples. She is also recognized for her nature paintings of Western forests, beaches and expansive skies. Based in Victoria, BC, Carr was one of only a few major women artists in North America and Europe during that period. She was also a celebrated author, winning a Governor General’s Award for her first book of short stories, Klee Wyck (1941).
Photo: Library and Archives Canada
Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia
Longlisted
Thérèse Casgrain
1896-1981 - Social Reformer and Politician
Best remembered for leading the campaign for women’s suffrage in Quebec, Thérèse Casgrain was also the first Canadian woman to head a political party in Canada, the Quebec wing of what is today the New Democratic Party. Casgrain was a vigorous defender of social causes and founded a number of organizations: the Quebec branch of the Voice of Women to promote disarmament and peace, the League for Human Rights and the Fédération des femmes du Québec. She was appointed to the Senate in 1970. Today, the Thérèse Casgrain medal honours the efforts of outstanding volunteers.
Photo: Library and Archives Canada
Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia
Longlisted
Lotta Hitschmanova
1909-1990 - Humanitarian
Dr. Lotta Hitschmanova came to Canada as a Czech refugee during the Second World War. In 1945, she founded the Unitarian Service Committee of Canada (USC Canada, now SeedChange) to help those suffering in the aftermath of the war, especially children. Her compassion struck a chord with Canadians. Thousands gave food, clothing and money, making USC Canada one of the first international development agencies in our country. Dr. Hitschmanova dedicated her life to relief work. For 36 years, she spoke, wrote, travelled and raised funds for the needy. The work of SeedChange continues today.
Photo: USC Canada
Source: USC Canada
Longlisted
Nellie McClung
1873-1951 - Suffragette
Nellie McClung achieved national renown as one of the five appellants (the “Famous Five”) in the “Persons” Case, the constitutional ruling that established the right of women to be appointed to the Senate. As a politician and public lecturer, she campaigned vigorously for social reform and women’s rights. McClung was a Liberal member for Edmonton in the Alberta legislature (1921-26) and the first female member of the CBC Board of Governors (1936-42). She was also the author of several influential books written in the style of the Methodist and temperance literature of her day, including Sowing Seeds in Danny (1908) and Clearing in the West: My Own Story (1935).
Photo: Library and Archives Canada
Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia
Longlisted
Lucy Maud Montgomery
1874-1942 - Author
In 1908, Montgomery’s first novel, Anne of Green Gables, became an immediate bestseller in Canada and the United States and remains in print in English and many other languages more than 100 years later. Over her life, Lucy Maud Montgomery published 22 novels and books of short stories, a brief memoir, and countless poems, stories and magazine articles. She was also an astute businesswoman, managing to ensure a reasonably stable and solid income from her work, a remarkable feat for a woman writer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Photo: Library and Archives Canada
Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia
Longlisted
Gabrielle Roy
1909-1983 - Author
A French-Canadian who grew up in poverty in Manitoba, Gabrielle Roy translated that experience, as well as her observations as a Montréal journalist, into vivid depictions of urban misery. The publication in 1945 of Bonheur d’occasion (translated as The Tin Flute) launched a new literary genre in Canada—the “urban novel”—and brought her fame and prosperity. Roy is considered one of the great contemporary writers on the human condition. A member of the Royal Society of Canada since 1947, Roy received the highest literary awards, including the Governor General’s Award, the Prix Duvernay and the Prix David.
Photo: Annette & Basil Zarov, the Gabrielle Roy Fonds
Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia
Selection criteria
Nominees submitted by Canadians were required to meet these criteria
- They are a Canadian (by birth or naturalization) who has demonstrated outstanding leadership, achievement or distinction in any field, benefiting the people of Canada, or in the service of Canada.
- They have been deceased for at least 25 years.
Submissions of fictional characters were not considered.
In developing their long and short lists, the independent Advisory Council set out the following additional criteria and operating principles
- Additional criteria: that the nominees for the bank note should have broken or overcome barriers, be inspirational, have made a significant change and have left a lasting legacy.
- Operating principles:
- Canada is comprised of many different communities.
- The women who appear on our list should resonate with Canadians and reflect the diversity of Canada.
- Their achievements must be seen in the context of the time they lived.
461 iconic Canadian women
The open call for nominations ran from 8 March until 15 April 2016, and the Bank received over 26,000 submissions. These are the names of the 461 iconic Canadian women who met initial qualifying criteria, and were submitted to the Advisory Council for consideration for the long list.
- Abbott, Maude
- Adams, Mary Electa
- Adamson, Bertha Dreschler
- Adney, Minnie Bell
- Aitken, Kate
- Albani, Emma
- Allamand, Jeanne-Charlotte
- Allison, Susan Louisa Moir
- Angélique, Marie-Joseph
- Anglin, Margaret
- Angutitok (Angutitaq), Irene Kataq
- Angwin, Maria Louisa
- Aquash, Anna Mae
- Archibald, Edith Jessie
- Ashoona, Pitseolak
- Babson, Janis
- Bagnato, Grace
- Bagshaw, Elizabeth
- Bamford Fletcher, Joan
- Banting, Dr. Henrietta
- Barry, Robertine
- Beauchamp-Jodoin, Marianna
- Becker (née Jackson), Abigail
- Bélanger, Dina
- Béliveau, Juliette
- Belyea, Helen
- Benedictsson, Margret
- Bennett, Myra
- Benoît, Jehane
- Benson, Clara Cynthia
- Bergeron, Geneviève
- Bernard, Gertrude (Anahareo)
- Berthiaume-Du Tremblay, Angélina
- Bertrand Mitchell, Elizabeth
- Beyak, Constable Della
- Beynon, Francis Marion
- Bibb, Mary Elizabeth
- Binnie-Clark, Georgina
- Birtles, Mary Ellen
- Black, Martha Louise Purdy
- Blackbird, Margaret
- Blackburn, Lucie
- Blanchet, Muriel Wylie "Capi"
- Blewett, Jean
- Blondin, Marie Anne
- Bordeleau, Émilie
- Borden, Laura
- Bourgeoys, Marguerite
- Brant, Molly (Konwatsi'tsiaienni)
- Brooks, Harriet
- Brooks, Lela
- Brown, Cassie Eileen
- Bruneau-Papineau, Julie
- Bruyère, Elisabeth
- Bujold, Françoise
- Buller, Annie
- Bulloch Adams, Elizabeth Jane
- Burry, Dr. Stella
- Cadron-Jetté, Marie-Rosalie
- Callihoo, Victoria Belcourt
- Cameron, Agnes Deans
- Campbell, Lydia
- Caouette, Catherine-Aurélie
- Carlyle, Florence
- Carmicheal Monk, Elizabeth
- Carnochan, Janet
- Carr, Emily
- Casgrain, Thérèse
- Catherwood, Ethel
- Chapman, Agatha
- Charlton, Margaret Ridley
- Charpentier, Yvette
- Charron, Donalda
- Chisholm-Lee, Janet Robertson
- Choquette, Adrienne
- Circé-Côté, Éva
- Clarke, Carmen Elizabeth
- Cluett, Frances
- Coleman, Kit
- Conan, Laure
- Cook (Ga'axsta'las), Jane Constance
- Cook-McGowan, Myrtle
- Cooley, Chloe
- Corbin, Jeanne
- Corning, Sara
- Corriveau, Marie-Josephte
- Crawford, Isabella Valancy
- Creighton, Helen
- Crépeau, Aurélie
- Crowley, Mary Elizabeth
- Cuvillier, Luce
- Cyr, Lizzie
- Dallaire, Imelda (Sœur Marie-Joseph)
- Dandurand, Josephine
- Darrach, Sarah Persis Johnson
- Davey, Jean Flatt
- Davidson, Annie
- Davidson, Jean Gertrude "True"
- de Chauvigny de la Peltrie, Marie-Madeleine
- de la Roche, Mazo
- de l'Incarnation (née Guyart), Marie
- de Saint-Augustin, Marie Catherine
- de Saint-Étienne de la Tour (née Jacquelin), Françoise-Marie
- Deeks, Florence Amelia
- Denison (née Merrill), Flora MacDonald
- Dennis, Agnes
- Derick, Carrie
- Desjardins (née Roy), Dorimène
- Desjardins, Marguerite (Sœur Madeleine du Sacré-Cœur de la Providence)
- Desloges, Béatrice
- Desmond, Viola
- Despréz, Jean
- Dessaulles (alias Fadette), Henriette
- Devereaux, Minnie
- Dickinson, Ethel Gertrude
- Dignam, Mary Ella
- Dinan, Sister Mary Bernard
- Dionne (née Legros), Elzire
- Doherty, Catherine
- Donati, Hilda
- Dorval, Onésime
- Douglas, Dr. Alice (Allie) Vibert
- Douglas (née Connolly), Amelia
- Douglass, Margaret Ellen
- Dressler (née Leila Koerber), Marie
- Du Sault, Marie Victoire
- Duley, Margaret
- Duncan, Sara Jeannette
- Duplessis, Marie-Marguerite
- Durocher (née Eulalie Mélanie), Marie Rose
- Dworkin, Dorothy
- d'Youville, Marie-Marguerite
- Eastwood, Alice
- Eaton (Sui Sin Far), Edith Maude
- Eckhardt-Grammaté, Sophie Carmen
- Edenshaw, Isabella
- Edgar (née Ridout), Matilda
- Edmonds, Sarah Emma
- Edward, Dr. Mary Lee
- Edwards, Henrietta Muir
- Eneutseak, Esther
- Engel, Marian
- Fairley (née Keeling), Margaret Adele
- Farrell, Dr. Leone Norwood
- Fenton (alias Alice Freeman), Faith
- Fessenden, Clementina Trenholme
- Fisbach, Marie-Joseph
- Fletcher, Leila
- Flett, Jane
- Fontbonne, Marie-Antoinette (Mother Delphine)
- Fortin-Tremblay, Émilie
- Fortune, Rose
- Francis, Dororthy Macquabeak
- Freiman, Lillian Bilsky
- Frémont, Annette
- French, Mabel Priscilla Penery
- Gadbois, Albine
- Gagnon, Aurore
- Gale, Hannah "Annie"
- Gamble, Laura Adelaide
- Gamelin (née Tavernier), Mère Émilie
- Gaudet-Smet, Françoise
- Gaudreault, Laure
- Gendron, Emma
- Gérin-Lajoie (née Lacoste), Marie
- Gidlow, Elsa
- Globensky, Hortense
- Goldman, Emma
- Gottfriedson, Mildred Amanda
- Goudie, Elizabeth
- Grannan, Mary Evelyn
- Grant, Helen "Maria"
- Gray, Jane
- Gray, Jessie Catherine
- Grégoire-Coupal, Marie-Antoinette
- Guerin, Bellelle
- Guèvremont (née Grignon), Germaine
- Gutteridge, Helena
- Guymer, Violet Irene
- Haile, Margaret
- Hall, Elizabeth "Bessie"
- Halpern, Ida
- Hamdon, Hilwie
- Hamilton, Constance E.
- Hanley, Barbara
- Hanna, Bessie Maud
- Harding, Gertrude Eleanor
- Hart, Julia Catherine Beckwith
- Hartley, Annie Jane
- Harvey, Ann
- Helmcken, Cecelia Douglas
- Henderson, Anna Minerva
- Henderson, Kate
- Henderson, Nora Frances
- Henry, Mary
- Heward, Prudence
- Higgins, Robina
- Hill, Esther Marjorie
- Hilliard, Dr. Anna Marion
- Hind, E. Cora
- Hitschmanova, Dr. Lotta
- Hodge de Silva, Jennifer
- Hodges, Nancy
- Hollis, Annie
- Hoodless (née Hunter), Adelaide
- Hopkins (née Beechey), Frances Anne
- Hubbard, Mina Benson
- Hughes, Katherine
- Hume, Dr. Rowena
- Hurley, Maisie
- Hyndman, Margaret Paton
- Imrie, Mary
- Irwin, May
- Jack, Monica
- Jackson, Annie May
- James Dickie, Donalda
- Jamieson, Alice
- Jarret de Verchères, Marie-Madeleine
- Jasmin, Judith
- Johns, Ethel
- Johnson (Tekahionwake), E. Pauline
- Jones, Alice
- Kalvak, Helen
- Kennedy, Joan Barbara
- Killam, Dorothy
- King, Dr. Leonora Howard
- King, Violet
- Kinnear, Helen Alice
- Kirke, Lady Sara
- Knowling McNeil, Fannie
- Lacoste-Beaubien, Justine
- Lacoste-Frémont, Thaïs
- LaDue, Flores
- Lagemodière (née Gaboury), Marie-Anne
- Laird, Dr. Elizabeth Rebecca
- Lajoie, Jeanne
- LaMarsh, Judy
- Lamoureux, Catherine Beaulieu Bouvier
- Langstaff, Annie
- Laurence, Margaret
- Laurier, Zoé
- Lawinonkié (La8inonkie), Marguerite Vincent
- Le Ber, Jeanne
- LeJeune-Ross, Marie-Henriette
- LeVasseur, Dr. Irma
- Lewis, Maud
- Lillie, Beatrice
- Livingstone, Kathleen "Kay"
- Lockhart, Grace Annie
- Loring, Francis
- Lowe, Margaret
- Lowther, Pat
- Luckock, Margaret "Rae"
- Lusk Webster, Alice
- MacAdams Price, Roberta
- Macdonald, Annie Caroline
- Macdonald, Blanche Brillon
- Macdonald, Isabella
- Macdonald, Lady Agnes
- MacDonald, Major Margaret Clothilde
- MacEwen, Gwendolyn
- MacGill, Elizabeth "Elsie"
- MacGill, Helen Gregory
- Mackenzie, Ada
- MacKenzie, Dr. Jemima "Mina"
- Mackenzie King, Isabel Grace
- MacLachlan, Jean Ethel
- MacLellan, Ann Terry
- MacLeod, Pegi Nicol
- MacMurchy, Dr. Helen
- Macneill, Isabel Janet
- Macphail, Agnes
- Malenfant, Anna
- Mallet, Mère Marcelle
- Mance, Jeanne
- March (Demasduit), Mary
- Marchand Dandurand, Josephine
- Martin, Clara Brett
- Massey, Lillian Frances
- Matheson, Elizabeth
- Mauger, Louise
- Maule Machar, Agnes
- May, Mabel
- Mayes, Mattie
- Maynard, Hannah
- McCallum, Ada
- McClung, Nellie
- McDermot Bannatyne, Annie
- McGill, Dr. Frances Gertrude
- McKinney, Louise
- McLaughlin, Bernice Walsh
- McLean, Rena Maude
- McLenaghen, Jessie Louise
- McLennan, Katharine
- McMaster, Elizabeth
- McNaughton, Violet Clara
- McNicoll, Helen
- McPherson, Aimee Semple
- McTavish, Dr. Isabelle
- McTavish Rogers, Edith
- McWilliams, Margaret May
- Meagher, Aileen Aletha
- Meighen, Isabel
- Menten, Maud
- Michaud, Marguerite
- Mikak
- Mike, Maria Norma
- Mitchell, Elizabeth Bertrand
- Molson, Anne
- Montgomery, Lucy Maud
- Montour, Isabelle
- Moodie (née Strickland), Susanna
- Moore, Dora Mavor
- Morelle, Denise
- Morin, Marie
- Morris, Mary Christianne
- Moyes, Susanna Carson Rijnhart
- Mucko, Kirkina
- Munday, Phyllis
- Murphy, Emily
- Murray, Margaret Lally "Ma"
- Neatby, Hilda
- Neel (Kaka’solas), Ellen
- Newton, Lilias Torrance
- Newton, Margaret
- Nielsen, Dorise Winifred Webber
- Nolin, Angelique
- Norris Armstrong, Hannah
- Nutting Gosling, Armine
- Oonark, Jessie
- Osborne, Helen Betty
- Owen, Eda
- Paradis, Élodie (Mère Marie-Léonie)
- Parizeau, Alice
- Parker (Drummond), Grace Julia
- Parlby, Irene
- Parr Traill, Catharine
- Parsons, Mona
- Paterson, Daphne
- Paterson, Isabel
- Patterson, Minnie
- Pellatt, Lady Mary
- Pelletier, Denise
- Perlin, Vera Elizabeth Crosbie
- Peters, Mabel Phoebe
- Pickford, Mary
- Polson Murray, Margaret Smith
- Poole, Susan Olivia
- Pope, Georgina
- Potvin, Éléonore (Mère Marie-Zita-de-Jésus)
- Preston, Isabella
- Prince, Rose
- Quaw, "Six Mile" Mary
- Rae-Arthur (Cougar Annie), Ada Annie
- Reeves, Gladys
- Reid, Dr. Minerva Ellen
- Reilly (Moretta Fenton Beall), Molly
- Rice, Kate
- Ringwood, Gwen Pharis
- Ritchie, Eliza
- Ritchie, Octavia Grace
- Robertson, Dr. Jennie Smillie
- Rollet Hébert (Hubou), Marie
- Rolston, Tilly Jean
- Rose, Marie Marguerite
- Rosenfeld, Fanny "Bobbie"
- Roy, Gabrielle
- Rutnam, Dr. Mary
- Ryan, Katherine (Klondike Kate)
- Saint-Jean, Idola
- Saint-Père, Agathe de
- Sartain, Emily
- Saunders, Margaret Marshall
- Savonnet, Jeanne
- Schäffer Warren, Mary T. S.
- Schubert, Catherine
- Scott, Margaret
- Seath, Ethel
- Secord, Laura
- Sénécal, Eva
- Shadd, Mary Ann
- Shawnadithit
- Shearer, Norma
- Sheldon-Williams, Catherine
- Shelton, Margaret
- Shipley, Marie Ann
- Shipman, Nell
- Sime Baxter, Agnes
- Simms Dolton, Sophia
- Sirois-Cloutier, Marie-Louise
- Slayter, Hilda Mary
- Small, Charlotte
- Smellie, Elizabeth Lawrie
- Smith, Ethel
- Smith, Lillian H.
- Smith, Mary Ellen
- Smith-Shortt, Elizabeth
- Snively, Mary Agnes
- Southcott, Mary Meager
- Spice Cherry, Evelyn
- Spofford McNaughton, Anne Cecilia
- Spurr Cutts, Gertrude Eleanor
- Squires, Lady Helena E.
- Stanley, Mable
- Stark, Sylvia Estes
- Steinberg, Ida Roth
- Steinhauser, Mary
- Stern, Elizabeth
- Stewart, Winnifred
- Stirling, Georgina Ann
- Stowe, Dr. Emily
- Stowe-Gullen, Dr. Augusta
- Strang Savage, Dr. Ella Margaret
- Stratten, Dorothy
- Strike, Hilda
- Sutton (Nahnebahwequay), Catherine
- Tallman Sufrin, Eileen
- Tassé, Charlotte
- Taylor, Myra Louise
- Tekakwitha, Kateri
- Tétreault, Délia
- Thanadelthur
- Thomson, Mary
- Thornton, Mildred Valley Stinson
- Timlin, Mabel Frances
- Tláa (Kate Carmack), Shaaw
- Tookoolito
- Trapp, Ethlyn
- Travers, Mary "La Bolduc"
- Tremblay, Émilie
- Trottier, Marguerite
- Trout, Dr. Jennie
- Turgeon, Marie-Élisabeth
- Vallance Taylor, Margaret
- Vanier, Pauline
- Venning, Dr. Eleanor Hill
- Vollick, Eileen
- Wake, Gladys Maude Mary
- Wales, Julia Grace
- Wallbridge, Jean
- Ware, Dr. Amanda Janet "Nettie"
- Watt, Margaret "Madge"
- Watt, Maud
- Wawrykow, Mary A.
- Wheelwright, Esther (Mère Marie-Joseph de l’Enfant-Jésus)
- White, Portia
- Whitehead Ross, Dr. Charlotte
- Whitton, Charlotte
- Whyte, Catherine Robb
- Whyte, Edith M.
- Wightman, Leila
- Wilson, Alice Evelyn
- Wilson, Cairine
- Wilson, Henrietta Tuzo
- Wilson, Jean
- Wisdom, Jane
- Wood, Charlotte Susan
- Work (née Legacé), Josette
- Worsley, Beatrice Helen
- Wyle, Florence
- Yeomans, Amelia