International Women's Day Centenary
Click to see photographs from Women's Day celebration - Downtown Toronto, Saturday, March 12th
March 8 is an annual, internationally recognized day that acknowledges and honors the struggles of women in their fight for equality, justice, peace and development. It is also a celebration of the progress women have made. This date is commemorated at the United Nations and is designated in many countries as a national holiday.
International Women's Day is rooted in the centuries-old struggle of women to participate in society on an equal footing with men. On an international scale the first International Women's Day (IWD) event occurred in 1911. Events were organized everywhere, from large cities to small towns and villages. During the largest street demonstration of 30,000 women, the police decided to remove the demonstrators' banners – the women made a stand, they held their ground and they won out. In 1913 International Women's day was transferred to March 8 and this day has remained the global date for IWD ever since. Many unions, including CUPE, participate in IWD events and continue to play a role in recognizing the work of women and their demand for equality, justice, peace and development.
In our current context, women continue to face discrimination and inequality in Canada and throughout the world. While women now make up over 50 per cent of Ontario's workforce most continue to be located at the bottom end of the spectrum. We know the majority of precarious workers are women, particularly racialized women and new Canadians. More and more jobs are part-time, contract or temporary jobs that don't provide women workers with the income they need to live decently, bring up their children or retire with dignity. Add to this the fact that equal pay for work of equal value is still not a reality, men still continue to outnumber women in government and we still do not have a National Child Care Program and we begin to see why it is women still come up short in all avenues of life.
Recognizing and participating in International Women's Day events provides an important opportunity to celebrate the gains women have made and to call for the changes that are still needed. On this, the Centenary of International Women's Day, all CUPE members are encouraged to participate in their local community events.
International Women's Day in Toronto will be held on Saturday, March 12, 2011 and members in the GTA are encouraged to join CUPE Ontario and its Women's Committee as we march in the Toronto rally. The Toronto IWD theme is Our City, Our Services, Our Future, Women Take on the Fight – appropriate and timely given the current political landscape in Toronto and beyond. Events go on all day long and include a rally, beginning at 11:00am at OISE (252 Bloor Street West, auditorium) a march at 1:00pm and a fair at Ryerson, beginning at 1:30pm.
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