“Canada’s labour movement, alongside our allies in the feminist and women’s rights movements, are putting politicians from every party on notice this International Women’s Day: the time for gender justice is now,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress.

People in Canada are struggling to afford the basics, like food, utilities, and rent. Women continue to bear the brunt of the affordability crisis—especially Indigenous, Black, racialized, newcomer, young, and 2SLGBTQI+ women and women with disabilities.

In Canada, sixty percent of minimum wage workers are women, food insecurity remains highest among female lone parent families, and 90% of families using emergency shelters are headed by single women.

Women and gender diverse workers also face disproportionately high levels of harassment and violence in the workplace. Alarmingly, third-party violence in public‑facing and care sectors—jobs typically held by women—is happening at astonishingly high rates.

“It’s clear that our country needs serious leadership and action to cement the important gains on gender equity we’ve made to date. These include union-led wins like pharmacare, affordable child care, gun control, expanded parental leave, and domestic violence leave,” added Siobhán Vipond, Executive Vice-President of the CLC. “We can’t roll back on progress—we need political leaders to commit to keep pushing forward on the progressive change we need to realize a truly inclusive world of work for women and gender diverse workers in Canada.”

Women and unions see the writing on the wall: women’s rights and gender equity issues are facing serious political backlash both here in Canada and abroad. The upsurge of far-right extremism and reckless, misogynistic conservatism is threatening the vision for human rights and dignity that Canada’s unions have championed for decades.

That’s why this past September, Canada’s unions launched Workers Together, a campaign to bring working people in Canada together to fight back against regressive politics and elect a pro-worker government.

“Let’s Rise Up and call for real leadership from our next federal government on the issues that matter to workers and their families. Issues like fighting back on indiscriminate tariffs that put Canadian jobs at risk, investing in safe, affordable housing and decent jobs for everyone, the implementation of the National Action Plan on Gender‑Based Violence including the elimination of violence and harassment in the world of work, and meaningful commitments to end the workforce crisis in care sectors,” said Bruske.

“We are inviting voters across Canada to join us in reserving our ballots for politicians that communicate a clear vision for the Canada we all deserve: one that is equitable, inclusive, and commits to promoting gender equity and women’s economic justice as central components of their platform,” said Vipond.

Take action to mark IWD 2025 by joining our campaign to put workers issues on the map this election. Let’s get to work: https://workerstogether.ca/action/#actionFormArea.

The post International Women’s Day 2025 – Workers are bringing gender justice to the ballot box appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

The disproportionately high number of women living in poverty and their lack of access to care services are deeply interconnected. Developing a national, comprehensive strategy for Canada’s care economy would go a long way to easing the burden that care – both paid and unpaid – places on women.  

As Canada’s cost-of-living crisis continues, many workers and their families are struggling to manage the soaring costs of food, shelter and other essentials. Women and others who are disproportionately poor or low-income are being hit hardest. These challenges are exacerbated by the over-representation of women in low-wage, part-time and precarious jobs, and by their unpaid labour caring for children, aging parents and loved ones with disabilities.  

“This is about gender justice. It’s no secret that women perform the bulk of unpaid and paid care work, which pushes women into part-time, precarious, temporary, or minimum-wage jobs. The majority of minimum wage workers in Canada are women,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “The consequences of the unequal division of care work on women’s economic security are severe, and the current affordability and housing crises are making life even more challenging – especially for the most marginalized women.” 

Women face higher rates of housing insecurity, food insecurity, and are less likely to qualify for employment insurance. The statistics are even worse for women living at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities: Indigenous, Black and women of colour, 2SLGBTQI women and nonbinary people and women with a disability.  

“It’s no wonder there are workforce crises in health care, childcare and other care sectors. Jobs caring for children, older adults and people with disabilities tend to be underpaid and precarious, and wages within the care economy are being eroded by inflation. These are jobs predominantly held by women, many of them immigrants and women of colour,” said Siobhán Vipond, Executive Vice-President of the CLC. “Addressing the care crisis will have a massive impact on women’s jobs, women’s incomes, and their labour force participation, which also benefits Canada’s economy.” 

Canada’s unions see a vision for our country where everyone has a right to the care they need, and the people who provide care are visible, valued and supported. The federal government must develop a comprehensive and integrated care strategy that would enshrine the right of every person to the care they need to live full and dignified lives, reduce and redistribute women’s disproportionate responsibility for care, support paid and unpaid care workers and strengthen Canada’s care economy across all sectors.  

Canada needs a Care Economy Commission to study, design and recommend a national care strategy that would:   

• Create a broader and more inclusive labour market strategy to achieve high-quality, equitable care jobs;   
• Examine paid and unpaid care work and develop a roadmap to meet the increasing demands for care; and   

• Reduce and redistribute women’s unpaid care work by improving access to public care services for children, older adults and people with disabilities.  

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You have led the charge, for decades, to improve women’s rights and gender equality at work. Years of tireless advocacy, over generations, has tipped the scales through every lobby, campaign, conversation and rally to get that much closer to achieving the feminist and equitable world those who stood before us dreamed of.

Now, don’t get me wrong, because our work to advance gender rights in the workplace is definitely far from over. There is still so much to do to eradicate sexism and the patriarchy from our workplaces and that won’t happen overnight.

We certainly could spend our time this International Women’s Day taking stock of the challenges that persist, and we will, but I don’t want us to stop there either.

This year, I want to celebrate.

Because when I look around at our movement of fierce union women, there is no denying that we are change makers.

As gender justice champions, you are constantly pushing the envelope, bringing your identities as Black, Indigenous, and racialized women, as 2SLBTQI+ women, and as women with disabilities to continue to fortify and build an equitable agenda for our labour movement.

I cannot help but beam with pride at the enormous gains we’ve made over the years. Victories that inch us closer every day to the feminist and equitable workplaces that unions have championed for generations.

In the last five years alone, we’ve won federal pay equity legislation, we’re on the path toward a national child care system, we’ve won paid domestic violence leave for almost all workers across the country and most recently, we successfully pushed our federal government to ratify a new international labour standard on violence and harassment at work.

And that’s not all.

When we have each other’s back—we accomplish phenomenal things.

I think of Laura Walton from the Canadian Union of Public Employees, who stood up to fight for the 55,000 education workers in Ontario who walked off the job last fall and whose successful strike action led to major wins for education workers across the province with vast improvements to wages and working conditions.

I am also reminded everyday of those who broke glass ceilings: Grace Hartman was the first woman to lead a national union in North America, Shirley Carr was the first woman elected at the head of the Canadian Labour Congress, Jan Simpson is the first Black woman to be elected president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, Irene Lanzinger, the first woman elected to the presidency of the B.C. Federation of Labour and Patty Coates became the first woman to lead the Ontario Federation of Labour.

And most recently, Magali Picard broke another glass ceiling. For the first time in its history, la Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec, elected a woman and the first Indigenous person as their president.

These are just a few examples of the courageous, firecracker feminists that make up our movement. Each and every one of us stands on the shoulders of union women giants like them, and those that came before them.

We are part of a proud and unyielding history of working women who have blazed the trail for equity and inclusion, and whose efforts led to paid parental and maternity leave, the right to be paid for the value of our work, the right to a world of work free from violence and harassment, groundbreaking gains that workers of all genders from coast to coast to coast enjoy today.

Together, we have fundamentally transformed the landscape for gender justice at work in Canada.

We are stronger than ever, and our work is just getting started.

Solidarity!

Bea

Bea Bruske is president of the Canadian Labour Congress. Follow her on Twitter @PresidentCLC

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“So much of what we have accomplished when it comes to women’s rights and gender justice at work in Canada is a direct result of union women working together to push for change; sector by sector, workplace by workplace, in our communities and on the national stage. It’s time we celebrate what we can achieve when we work together,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress.

Union women are not strangers to being on the frontlines of advocating for and achieving victories in the name of working women, victories that ultimately benefit all workers and their families. These wins include the introduction of paid maternity and parental leave in Canada back in 1971,  legislated paid domestic violence leave, and progress in organising new bargaining units  in women-dominated sectors like retail. Union women have been leading the charge delivering results for gender justice at work. 

Since the launch of #DoneWaiting, thousands of activists have taken action and committed themselves to championing women’s rights and gender equity in workplaces across Canada. We demanded – and won – progress at all levels of government to end wage discrimination, end sexual harassment and violence, fix the child care crisis and make work fair for women. In the last five years, we won some incredible victories, including: 

• The adoption of federal pay equity legislation in 2018;
• 30 billion dollars pledged in the 2021 federal budget to spend over five years on a new national child care system;
• The introduction, in 2022, of federal child care legislation; and
• Canada finally ratifying ILO C-190 in 2023, committing to a world of work free of harassment and violence, in particular gender-based violence.

“From coast to coast to coast, union women have blazed the trail in the fight for a more feminist and equitable Canada. We are emboldened by our victories to keep pushing the envelope as gender justice champions in every workplace and community,” added Siobhán Vipond, Executive Vice-President at the CLC.

As we look ahead, Canada’s unions are committed to continuing to push decision makers to take further actions to #EmbraceEquity from coast to coast. Our vision includes:

• A commitment to value women’s work by creating a national care strategy to train, recruit and retain workers in care sectors so we can end wage discrimination in a sector that disproportionately employs women, especially racialized and newcomer women;
• Action to end gender-based violence and harassment at work and collaborate with unions, employers and all levels of government to implement ILO C-190 and make work safer for women, trans and gender non-conforming workers;
• Support for the calls of child care advocates and sector workers to advance Bill C-35 on respecting early learning and child care in Canada until the right of every child to accessible, affordable, inclusive and high quality child care becomes enshrined in Canadian law; and
• Investments from our federal government into a Care Economy Commission that will: examine paid and unpaid care work and develop a roadmap to meet the increasing demands for care; reduce and redistribute women’s unpaid care work, including by improving access to public care services for children, the elderly and people living with disabilities; and build a broader and more inclusive labour market strategy to achieve high-quality, equitable care jobs across all care sectors. 

Join us by taking the pledge to be a gender justice champion at work.

The post Union women: Stronger than ever appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“We all need care at some point in our lives. It is vital, skilled and life-sustaining work that supports our families, economy, and communities,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “However, the majority of this work continues to be performed by women and much of it is unpaid. If we truly want to achieve gender equality and build a more just society, care work must be part of the conversation.”

The federal government must address the care crisis by building and growing the care sector with good jobs that don’t rely on women’s unpaid work. Canada also needs a coherent strategy for care and increased investments in the care services and supports that people and families need. The federal government should create a Care Economy Commission to study, design and implement this strategy.

Care work refers to the tasks that are required to support the health, well-being, maintenance and development of people. This often includes caring for children, care for the elderly, care for people with disabilities, and domestic work such as cooking and cleaning to support families and individuals. Care work is part of our social fabric and allows all other work to happen. Despite this, care is not always seen as work and often goes unrecognized and undervalued ꟷ especially the work that is unpaid.

Globally, women perform more than three times as much unpaid care work as men. This heavy load means many women have less time to engage in paid work or education, or struggle to balance their paid and unpaid work. This “second shift” can impact women’s job choices or limit their chances of promotion. It can also negatively impact mental and physical health, and family stress.

“Our economy’s reliance on women’s unpaid care work contributes to women’s poverty and reduced lifetime earnings. Unpaid care work has long been filling gaps where social services and so-called “safety nets” have failed and cannot meet peoples’ basic needs. During the pandemic, this work has increased and has stretched everyone to a breaking point,” said Bruske. “This cannot continue. Those who give and receive care deserve better.”

“It’s no coincidence that care jobs in Canada are often low-paid, with poor job security and challenging working conditions. Care workers are mostly women, and many of them are racialized, immigrants or migrant workers,” added Siobhan Vipond, CLC Executive Vice-President. “Care work is undervalued, and often invisible, but absolutely essential to our economy. This is about women’s economic justice. Investments in care will not only ensure equal access to quality care for all Canadians, but also an equitable society in which women, and others who experience systemic oppression, can thrive.

Visit the action hub at canadianplan.ca for more information on how you can get involved.

The post IWD 2022: Gender equality depends on a healthy care economy appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“It’s no secret that the gendered impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have hurt women the most, especially those who also face other forms of discrimination and marginalization,” said Marie Clarke Walker, CLC Secretary-Treasurer. “Black, Indigenous and racialized women, newcomers, women with disabilities, and queer and trans communities have been among the hardest hit by COVID-19.”

At the beginning of the pandemic, more than 1.5 million women lost their jobs. Many others saw their hours and income reduced in order to care for children or other family members. Unsurprisingly, women took on the lion’s share of paid and unpaid care work keeping homes, schools and communities afloat over the past year.

Of those women fortunate enough to keep their jobs, many have been on the front lines of this health crisis. They are doing the work that keeps our communities healthy, safe, fed and supported while facing increased risk of exposure to the virus, higher exposure to violence and harassment, and inadequate access to PPE and paid sick days.

“Canada hasn’t seen women’s labour force participation this low since the mid 80s,” said Clarke Walker. “Without immediate and concrete investments to ensure a safe and accessible national system for child care, as well as a concerted effort to address the low wages and poor working conditions across the care sector, we risk losing 30 years of gains in women’s economic participation.”

The federal government’s plan for Canada’s economic recovery must address the precarity faced by workers in the care economy, must invest in a universal childcare program, and must ensure that women who have been pushed out of the workforce get back to work in good jobs.

Since launching the #DoneWaiting campaign in 2018, the CLC has called on the federal government to value women’s work, end violence and harassment, fix the child care crisis and make work fair for women. Three years later, it’s taken a pandemic to underscore how essential women’s labour is to the wellbeing of our communities and of our economic well-being.

Supporters are invited to mark International Women’s Day 2021 by texting IWD2021 to 5525 to join the movement for women’s economic justice.

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“We know some steps the federal government can take right now to be a global leader in gender equality—if they are bold enough,” said Marie Clarke Walker, Secretary-Treasurer of the Canadian Labour Congress.

In 1995, 189 governments, including Canada’s, signed on to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which set out a clear roadmap to achieve gender equality and the human rights of women. 

“Despite recent progress, there is still so much work to do. At the current rate, women will have to wait 164 more years before Canada closes the economic gender gap,” added Clarke Walker.

This year, the Generation Equality Forum will mark the 25^th Anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. With gatherings in Mexico and France, this forum will engage women’s rights activists, governments and other stakeholders in a global public conversation. Together, these groups will take stock of progress and set an agenda of concrete action to realize gender equality before 2030. 

The Platform for Action committed governments to taking strategic, bold action in 12 critical areas: poverty, education and training, health, violence, armed conflict, economy, power and decision-making, institutional mechanisms, human rights, media, environment and the girl child.  

“The number one thing our federal government can do immediately is to restore core funding to women’s rights organizations and feminist movements,” said Clarke Walker. “For far too long, these organizations have struggled for necessary resources to fund their important, and often life-saving, work. Funding that covers core operational costs can build strong, independent women’s movements that drive change.”

Canada’s unions are committed to building strong, vibrant feminist movements. Working together, we can be a powerful force for women’s economic justice.

The Canadian Labour Congress is inviting Canadians to mark International Women’s Day by taking the following actions:

• Write to the Minister of Status of Women and the Prime Minister and ask them to demonstrate real commitment to women’s equality and economic justice.
• Read “Unfinished Business”, a civil society report on Canada’s progress in implementing the Beijing Platform for Action.
• Share the top 20 actions the government can take in 2020 to show leadership on women’s rights and gender equality.

The post #DoneWaiting: Make Canada a Leader in Global in Gender Equality appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

In the four years since the release of the first-ever pan-Canadian study on the impact of domestic violence at work, unions, employers and governments have embarked on a remarkable joint project to help protect jobs and promote workplace safety.

We now have a common understanding of the magnitude of this problem and we must work together to support workers, mostly but not exclusively women, who are experiencing domestic violence. The evidence is clear. Domestic violence affects attendance, productivity, and retention. It follows people to work and puts jobs and safety at risk.

While it’s not the role of employers or unions to eliminate such a complex societal problem, workplaces can have an effect on how a worker is able to respond. The money a woman earns through employment can help her from becoming trapped and isolated in violent relationships, and ensures she can support herself and her children should she decide to leave.

And while not every abusive relationship will escalate to serious injury or death, it happens to women far too frequently – and workplace safety is at risk for her and potentially for her colleagues, as an abuser may look for their target at work.

That’s why, together, governments, employers and unions are taking action. The first step was passing Bill C-65, which clearly recognizes harassment and violence as a workplace hazard. The federal government has provided workers with job-protected, paid domestic violence leave. Employers and unions have negotiated additional paid leave and other workplace supports and accommodations. Unions have built a series of educational tools to better equip union representatives and promote awareness among members.

Our next step is to develop strong regulations on workplace violence that clearly lay out the steps that workplaces should take to respond to domestic violence at work, to manage and reduce risk, and to support workers who are affected. This work should build on positive steps that have already been taken across many organizations.

We are embarking now on a collective effort to promote awareness and ensure that workplaces are prepared.

With support from the Government of Canada, FETCO and the Canadian Labour Congress have partnered with the Centre for Research & Education on Violence against Women & Children at Western University to provide practical, workplace solutions including policies, tools and training materials that clearly delineate employer responsibilities related to domestic violence in the new harassment and violence regulations.

By promoting greater awareness about domestic violence, we hope to challenge the stigma and break the silence that enables the violence to continue – and which can put everyone at the workplace at risk if an abuser’s behaviour escalates.

Abusers seek control over the woman in their life, and isolation is a tool to keep the woman separate from others. People stay silent when they witness or suspect that someone close to them may be experiencing abuse for many reasons. Sometimes it’s uncertainty about whether what is happening is actually abuse. Maybe it’s not understanding how risky a situation really is. It might be that we don’t want to embarrass our co-worker by putting her on the spot, or we think the person is capable of handling it. Or maybe we just aren’t sure what we can do to help.

Breaking the silence is the critical first step for a woman to end the abuse she is experiencing. By giving workers, managers, human resource staff and union representatives tools they need to recognize the warning signs of domestic violence, we can better support and empower people experiencing abuse to safely speak with their friends and co-workers.

Clear workplace policies will be essential to helping manage risk and respond to specific situations. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to addressing domestic violence at work. Each worker will need different supports, and their situation and risk may change over time. But with better awareness and access to training and other resources, we are confident that workplaces will be better prepared to respond, keeping everyone safer, healthier and more productive.

Hassan Yussuff is the President of the Canadian Labour Congress, Derrick Hynes is the President and CEO of the Federally Regulated Employers – Transportation and Communications (FETCO), and the Honourable Patty Hajdu is the Federal Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour.

The post When government, employers & unions take domestic violence seriously appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

#DoneWaiting is a campaign for women’s economic justice. Launched one year ago, the campaign began with a call for federal government action to end sexual harassment and violence, fix the child care crisis, and end wage discrimination.

After months of digital actions and lobbying, we had a major victory in December of 2018: pay equity became the law in Canada. The new Pay Equity Act requires all federally-regulated employers to create proactive pay equity plans and will introduce a new federal Pay Equity Commissioner.

“This is an historic moment for women in Canada”, said Marie Clarke Walker, Secretary-Treasurer of the CLC, “There’s still work to do on the regulations before the Act comes into force, but the Act’s adoption is a testament to what can be achieved when we are united in our fight for women’s economic justice.”

We’ve made progress toward an end to sexual harassment and violence. Seven provinces, as well as the federal government, have introduced paid domestic violence leave, and new federal occupational health and safety legislation offers better protections for workers who experience violence and harassment at work.

“We’ve seen that our messages are being heard and we are making progress. Let’s celebrate how far we’ve come. Also remember: we’re not done yet.” said Clarke Walker.

With a federal election on the horizon, Canada’s unions are expanding the conversation about women’s economic justice by looking more closely at the issue of working life and workplace culture. We want women’s voices at the centre as we consider our next calls to action. So we are asking women to share their stories about #BeingAWomanAtWork. Even though study after study shows that more women in the workforce will help grow the economy and improve everyone’s lives, we know that the working world isn’t working for women.

Too many women still face significant barriers to success at work. Many have trouble finding a good job or advancing at their workplace, and many more struggle with low-wage, precarious work.

“It’s time for leadership to reduce barriers for women’s labour force participation” said Clarke Walker, “There is a role for our federal government, employers, and unions to play. We must work together and ensure that the future of women and work means good jobs and fair treatment for all, especially for the most marginalized.”

Everyone has a story. Speak up now and help us keep up the pressure for change in 2019.

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Celebrated on March 8 every year, International Women’s Day (IWD) is fundamentally a political protest about conditions in the workplace and society. The day has moved around over the past century finally settling on March 8^th in 1975. Its roots go back to a 1909 protest organized by the Socialist Party of America in New York in honour of the women garment workers’ strike held the year before. Protest continues in the coming years on the last Sunday in February calling for improved working conditions and equal rights.

The idea for a formal day of action belongs to Luise Zietz, who initially championed the cause at the 1910 International Women’s Conference in Copenhagen, organized to precede a general meeting of the Second International. Delegates from 17 countries agreed to promote equal rights and voting rights for women on an annual basis. On March 19^th, 1911, protests in Germany, Austria, Denmark and Switzerland marked the first truly international day. Over 1 million women and men rallied to demand the right to vote, the right to work, to vocational training and to end workplace discrimination.

During World War I, women in Europe protested on March 8^th, 1914, calling for an end to war and to express worker solidarity.  In 1917, Russian women called for a “Bread and Peace” strike on the last Sunday in February, which fell on March 8^th in the Gregorian calendar – an event that marks the start of the Russian Revolution.

The day was finally entrenched on March 8^th in 1975, when the United Nations declared International Women’s Year (IWY). In Canada, IWD and IWY have been platforms to demand equal citizenship, voting rights, pay equity, reproductive rights, Indigenous rights, childcare, equality and justice.

Today, unions work with community groups, national organizations and international partners to win a better deal for women and their families including: comprehensive pay equity, a national public child care program, workplace support for victims of domestic violence, and ending the culture of discrimination and harassment.

Women and their unions are #donewaiting and working together for fairness from employers and governments.

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The CLC’s #donewaiting campaign outlines concrete ways the federal government can remove three key barriers to women’s economic justice: wage discrimination, sexual harassment and violence and the child care crisis.

“Women in Canada want equal pay for work of equal value. We want to be able to go to work feeling safe and secure. And we want to be able to go to work knowing our kids are safe and well cared for,” said CLC Secretary-Treasurer Marie Clarke Walker.

“Our campaign will build on mounting public pressure for decision makers in Canada and around the world to move beyond rhetoric to take action that will make feminist rhetoric a feminist reality,” she added.

The #donewaiting campaign highlights how different women experience these barriers differently.

“We know that Indigenous women, racialized women, and women with disabilities face higher rates of violence and barriers to support, wider wage gaps, and have a harder time finding and paying for the child care they need to be able to work or study,” said Clarke Walker.

The campaign invites people to write to their Member of Parliament to take action, and to share the campaign on social media.

CLC President Hassan Yussuff said that although the campaign is being launched in time for International Women’s Day, it will continue through until the next federal election.

“This campaign is about shaping an agenda for women’s economic justice in the 2019 federal election,” he said.

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