Chief Luther Standing Bear once taught his Lakota community “It is the mothers, not the warriors, who create a people and guide their destiny”.

On March 8 and throughout the month of March, the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and its affiliates, federations of labour, labour councils and local activists participate in events to mark the economic, political and social achievements of women across the globe. This International Women’s Day, we are inspired by the many women who stand up for fairness, justice and equality, teaching us what it means to be empowered, hopeful and courageous.

This year has seen some powerful expressions of grassroots activism, many of them led by women. In the Idle No More movement, Indigenous women came together to guide, raise awareness and organize the Canadian public to support a renewed government guarantee for treaty agreements and an end to what organizers see as a legislative erosion of First Nations rights. Four Saskatchewan women, Jessica Gordon, Sheelah McLean, Sylvia McAdams and Nina Wilsonfeld had the idea to protest. The actions of another woman, Theresa Spence, Chief of Attawapiskat First Nation, brought even more public attention to the impacts of government inaction on women and children in remote First Nations communities.

Other important campaigns, such as Women’s Memorial Marches, and One Billion Rising, have helped bring attention to the tragedy of missing and murdered Indigenous women and the epidemic of gender-based violence to national and even international attention. Creative and even humorous responses to anti-choice initiatives, like the Radical Handmaids’ campaign to defeat Motion M-312, have helped defend hard-won reproductive rights. The actions of one woman in Prince Edward Island, who picketed the Employment Insurance (EI) office when she was denied benefits, helped bring national attention to the destructive impacts of the federal government’s changes to the EI program.

What all of these initiatives show is the important role women play in standing up for positive change. Canada’s labour movement has been a proud participant and supporter of many of these campaigns.

Unions have made real gains for women this year, including a pay equity victory for clerical workers at Canada Post who have waited 28 years for justice, and a recent Federal Court decision on discrimination based on family status by Canadian Border Services. This is a significant victory for all working parents who struggle to balance the often-competing demands of work and family life. As women still bear more of the responsibility for caregiving, this decision is also important for women’s equality.

We still have a great amount of work to do and must not lose momentum. Women have far to go before they achieve real equality and economic security. We need to keep up the struggle for decent jobs, retirement security, affordable housing and child care. We need to challenge austerity measures which put women and their families at risk, including the changes to EI and cuts to public services, which are a source of good jobs for women.

On this International Women’s Day, the CLC demands that the federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments do more to advance women equality by investing in child care, building safe, affordable housing, improving the Canada Pension Plan and reversing the changes made to the Employment Insurance program. Most of all, governments must work together to end violence against women in Canada, make the safety of Indigenous women a priority and hold a National Public Inquiry on missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls

We repeat our challenge to the government of Canada to take concrete steps to end violence against women. On December 6, 2012, along with our allies, we made three demands on the Harper government:

• announce plans to develop a comprehensive National Action Plan to End Violence against Women in Canada;
• launch a national public inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls; and
• make a public commitment to work toward an agreement at the 2013 United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) which builds upon and strengthens existing rights for women, and holds governments accountable for their progress toward eliminating and preventing all forms of violence against women and girls.

We repeat these demands for International Women’s Day.

Let us build on the energy and inspiration created by powerful grassroots activism this past year, and keep up the momentum for women’s equality.

The Canadian Labour Congress represents the interests of more than three million affiliated workers in every imaginable occupation from coast to coast to coast.