Woman of the World: Mary McGeachy and International Cooperation

Margaret Kechnie is head of the Women’s Studies Program at Laurentian
University. She is the co-editor of Changing Lives: Women in Northern
Ontario, and the author of Organizing Rural Women: The Federating
Women's Institutes of Ontario, 1897–1919.

It is unfortunate that we know so little about the Canadian women who
were involved in the national and international peace movements during
the interwar years. They keep popping up in unexpected places, and they
are often women totally unknown to us. It is only through books like
this one by Mary Kinnear that we find out about them.

Born at the turn of the 20th century into a Scottish preacher’s
family living in Sarnia, Ontario, Mary McGeachy lived for 90 years.
During most of that time women were forced to function in a world
defined by gender relations. Her father imbued in her a strong interest
in education. As a teenager she lived through World War I, a time when
she developed a sense of the need for international co-operation if
peace was going to be achieved.

McGeachy was particularly influenced by the League of Nations and
became one of its strongest supporters. She served in the League’s
Secretariate during the difficult days of the 1930s. When World War II
broke out, McGeachy was employed by the British Ministry of Economic
Warfare and became the first woman to be given a diplomatic rank by the
British government. She eventually served as Director of Welfare for the
United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. Her feminism
was evident during the years that she served as president of the
International Council of Women.

In the book, Kinnear uses gender as her main reference point. In doing
so, she identifies important aspects of international politics in the
Western world during the 20th century. McGeachy’s biography is an
important contribution to international studies and to women’s
history.