International Women’s Day: Fight on!

Equality between women and men is one of the keystones to addressing the most pressing social, economic, and environmental challenges of our time. It is urgent to do so as every week and even every day that passes brings its share of pain and tragedy.

International Women's Day, March 8, is a combative day whose energy feeds the months to come, for women, but also for all people for whom social, economic and environmental justice is at the core of their struggles. It is also a day at the heart of the trade union movement.

In the world of work, no fundamental change can take place without powerful unions. To be powerful, one must be representative. But the world of work has changed: Precariousness, informal working conditions, wages pulled down, competition between workers, erasure of the employer's responsibilities, are reality all over the world. And women are the most affected. To be representative, trade unions must, among others, continue and accelerate their transformation to attract women workers at all levels, and demonstrate their relevance to women by taking concrete actions to address women's challenges, interests, and needs. The IUF Africa and Asia Pacific regions will dedicate their actions for International Women's Day to the crucial theme "More Women, More Power for Trade Unions," the first pillar of the IUF Action Program for Equality.

In Latin America, as in North America and Europe, are facing an unprecedented rise of authoritarian and far-right governments, one of the primary goals of which is to dismantle women's hard-won rights and labour rights. Institutional violence converges with and reinforces violence at work. This March 8, affiliates in these regions will show resistance and promote women workers' rights.