Genevieve Lipsett

Genevieve Lipsett
Born(1885-07-29)29 July 1885
Kankakee, Illinois, United States
Died29 January 1935(1935-01-29) (aged 49)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Other nameGenevieve Lipsett-Skinner
EducationNew York Grammar School
Alma materNew York Normal College
University of Manitoba
OccupationsJournalist, teacher and suffragist
Employer(s)Winnipeg Telegram
The Montreal Star
Calgary Daily Herald
Vancouver Sun
Organization(s)Manitoba Political Equality League
Canadian Women's Press Club
Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery
SpouseRobert Curtis Skinner (m. 1911, div. 1919)

Genevieve Elsie Alice Lipsett (29 July 1885 – 29 January 1935) was an American-born Canadian journalist, teacher and suffragist. She was the first woman to became a member of the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery (French: Tribune de la presse parlementaire), the association established to oversee rules and responsibilities of Canadian journalists when at Parliament Hill. After her marriage, she wrote under the byline "Genevieve Lipsett-Skinner."

Biography

Lipsett was born on 29 July 1885 in Kankakee, Illinois, United States.[1] Her parents were Robert and Annie Lipsett (née Macdonald).[1][2] After her family moved to Canada, Lipsett was educated at public schools in Toronto and Manitoba, then at New York Grammar School.[1][2] She attended the New York Normal College from 1900 to 1903 and worked briefly as a teacher in a rural school in Manitoba.[1]

Lipsett moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, in 1904, where she worked for the Winnipeg Telegram from 1914 as a reporter and editor of the paper's "Sunshine" department.[3] On 6 June 1911, Lipsett married Winnipeg businessman Robert Curtis Skinner, but retained her maiden name in her new byline of "Genevieve Lipsett-Skinner."[1][3]

In 1912, Lipsett was engaged in delivering talks in Britain and Ireland to promote the emigration of women to "the Dominion" (an historic title for Canada).[1][4] After returning to Canada, she was a founder member of the Manitoba Political Equality League,[1][3] which lobbied for women's suffrage at the provincial level. In 1913, she reported on infant mortality for the Winnipeg Telegram, where she continued to work until 1920.[1]

In 1918, Lipsett became the first married Canadian woman to qualify for a law degree from the University of Manitoba,[3][5][6] completing her examinations in 1920[7] and graduating with honours.[1]

In 1919, Lipsett's marriage ended[3] and she moved to Ottawa to live with her brother and became a political journalist.[1] Lipsett wrote for The Montreal Star[8] and Calgary Daily Herald. From 1922 to 1923, she wrote for the Vancouver Sun.[9] Women were barred from the all-male Canadian Press Club, so Lipsett became a member of the Canadian Women's Press Club,[10][11] later becoming president of the Winnipeg then Montreal branches of the club.[12] Lipsett was also director of the Anti-Tuberculosis Society[3] and president of the Children's Aid Society of Toronto.[13]

Lipsett was the first woman to became an officially accredited member of the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery (French: Tribune de la presse parlementaire),[9][14][15] the association established to oversee rules and responsibilities of Canadian journalists when at Parliament Hill. She joined in 1923[15][16] and left the Press Gallery in 1926.[14] From 1926 until her death Lipsett worked as The Montreal Star's Ottawa correspondent.[3]

Lipsett died on 29 January 1935 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, aged 49.[1][7][17]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Lang, Marjory Louise (2014). "LIPSETT, GENEVIEVE ELSIE ALICE (Skinner)". Dictionary of Canadian Biography, University of Toronto. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  2. 1 2 Who's who in Western Canada. Vol. 1. Canadian Press Association. 1911. p. 240.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Goldsborough, Gordon (2022). "Memorable Manitobans: Genevieve Elsie Alice Lipsett (1886–1935)". Manitoba Historical Society (MHS). Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  4. ↑ Fourth Estate: A Weekly Newspaper for Publishers, Advertisers, Advertising Agents and Allied Interests. Fourth Estate Publishing Company. 1912. p. 19.
  5. ↑ Lang, Marjory Louise (1999). Women Who Made the News: Female Journalists in Canada, 1880–1945. McGill-Queen's Press – MQUP. p. 113. ISBN 978-0-7735-1838-4.
  6. ↑ Bannerman, Jean MacKay (1977). Leading Ladies Canada. Mika Publishing Company. p. 385. ISBN 978-0-919303-18-8.
  7. 1 2 Manitoba Bar News. Vol. 7–8. Manitoba Bar Association. 1935. p. 100.
  8. ↑ Bashevkin, Sylvia B. (2009). Women, Power, Politics: The Hidden Story of Canada's Unfinished Democracy. Oxford University Press. p. 97. ISBN 978-0-19-543170-4.
  9. 1 2 "Historique de la Tribune". Tribune de la presse parlementaire canadienne [Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery] (in Canadian French). Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  10. ↑ Kinnear, Mary (1987). First Days, Fighting Days: Women in Manitoba History. Canadian Plains Research Center, University of Regina. p. 54. ISBN 978-0-88977-047-8.
  11. ↑ "Genevieve Lipsett-Skinner". Database of Canada's Early Women Writers. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  12. ↑ Hopkins, John Castell (1927). The Canadian Annual Review of Public Affairs. Annual Review Publishing Company. p. 648.
  13. ↑ The Canadian Almanac and Miscellaneous Directory. Grey House Publishing Canada. 1918. p. 550.
  14. 1 2 Lewis, Robert (27 October 2018). Power, Prime Ministers and the Press: The Battle for Truth on Parliament Hill. Dundurn. ISBN 978-1-4597-4266-6.
  15. 1 2 Ditchburn, Jennifer (27 May 2016). "The long struggle of female reporters in the Parliamentary Press Gallery". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  16. ↑ Taras, David (1990). The Newsmakers: The Media's Influence on Canadian Politics. Nelson Canada. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-17-603444-3.
  17. ↑ "Une femme qui fit sa marque en journalisme". Le Droit (in French): 12. 6 December 1934 – via BAnQ Numérique.
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