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Bonnie Reilly Schmidt worked as a police officer with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police between 1977 and 1987. She returned to post-secondary education later in life, earning a BA from the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV), a Master's from Simon Fraser University (SFU), and a Ph.D. in Canadian History in 2014, also from SFU.
As a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada scholar, Bonnie was also the recipient of the Dean of Graduate Studies Convocation Medal for Academic Excellence from SFU for her Ph.D. dissertation "Women in Red Serge: Female Police Bodies and the Disruption to the Image of the RCMP." In 2014, she was also voted one of UFV's Top 40 Alumni.
Schmidt has spoken at a number of academic conferences since 2005. She also has several publications to her credit, including a number of book reviews for BC Studies Journal as well as articles for the Journal of the Canadian Historical Association and Canada's History Magazine. Bonnie has given numerous media interviews about women in the RCMP for Maclean's, The Vancouver Sun, the Canadian Press, and Global TV (Vancouver).
Bonnie Reilly Schmidt joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1977 and stayed for ten years. During this period, The RCMP doubted women would fit in. Could they march? Could they lift weights? Would they cry? The original uniform for a woman officer was pumps, a pillbox hat and a shoulder bag for a revolver and handcuffs. Eventually women found stronger footing within the RCMP and transformed the organization.
In 2015, Schmidt published Silenced: the Untold Story of the Fight for Equality in the RCMP (Caitlin $24.95), an in-depth look into the struggle women had gaining acceptance into this iconic Canadian institution.
BOOKS:
Silenced: the Untold Story of the Fight for Equality in the RCMP (Caitlin, 2015) $24.95 978-1927575895
[BCBW 2015]
As a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada scholar, Bonnie was also the recipient of the Dean of Graduate Studies Convocation Medal for Academic Excellence from SFU for her Ph.D. dissertation "Women in Red Serge: Female Police Bodies and the Disruption to the Image of the RCMP." In 2014, she was also voted one of UFV's Top 40 Alumni.
Schmidt has spoken at a number of academic conferences since 2005. She also has several publications to her credit, including a number of book reviews for BC Studies Journal as well as articles for the Journal of the Canadian Historical Association and Canada's History Magazine. Bonnie has given numerous media interviews about women in the RCMP for Maclean's, The Vancouver Sun, the Canadian Press, and Global TV (Vancouver).
Bonnie Reilly Schmidt joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1977 and stayed for ten years. During this period, The RCMP doubted women would fit in. Could they march? Could they lift weights? Would they cry? The original uniform for a woman officer was pumps, a pillbox hat and a shoulder bag for a revolver and handcuffs. Eventually women found stronger footing within the RCMP and transformed the organization.
In 2015, Schmidt published Silenced: the Untold Story of the Fight for Equality in the RCMP (Caitlin $24.95), an in-depth look into the struggle women had gaining acceptance into this iconic Canadian institution.
BOOKS:
Silenced: the Untold Story of the Fight for Equality in the RCMP (Caitlin, 2015) $24.95 978-1927575895
[BCBW 2015]
