A Partnership of Equals traces the struggle to reform Manitoba’s family law to achieve equality for married women. Its main thrust focuses on the years 1975-78 when the Manitoba New Democratic Party government introduced legislation to amend existing law and the Tory government subsequently shelved it to bring in their own watered-down version. The hearings held to receive citizen input over this period provided an insight into the discrimination inherent in the laws and the effect this discrimination had on women. The biases of many of the legal profession and of the judiciary at the time gave abundant evidence of the need for reform.

Berenice Sisler has had an active involvement in issues of concern to women over a period of 40 years. Her work, particularly in the areas of family law and pension reform, has been recognized by the Government of Manitoba (Order of the Buffalo Hunt), the Government of Canada (Person’s Award), and the University of Winnipeg (Honourary Doctor of Laws). In 1989, she was the recipient of the YM–YWCA Woman of the Year Award for Public Affairs.

Berenice B. Sisler's profile page