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In 1936, Montreal’s dressmaking industry, which at the time was the hub of Canada’s garment industry, was comprised of over a hundred workshops that were concentrated along The Main (Saint-Laurent Street) and in the area of De Bleury and Sainte-Catherine Streets. The workshops employed workers of diverse ethnic and linguistic origins, the majority of whom were women.

The Midinette Ball, which was organized by the ILGWU/UIOVD from 1938 onwards and criticized by Léa Roback, was an annual event attended not only by female workers, but also by businessmen and politicians and their wives. From 1948 onward, it included a beauty contest for female workers. The event ceased to be held in the 1980s.

Reference: Dossier Pioneers of Feminism and Unionism : Léa Roback and Madeleine Parent