As union leaders in British Columbia, we are reminded that International Women’s Day was born in the labour movement as a demand for dignity, safety, and fair wages. As International Women’s Day approaches, we reflect on the courage of the women and gender diverse workers who came before us and recommit to the work ahead.
The workplace rights we rely on today, such as parental leave, childcare, Pharmacare, pay equity, and protections from workplace harassment, were not given freely. They were hard-won through more than a century of striking, rallying, and collective action, often organized by women and gender diverse workers.
While strides have been made, cuts to public services threaten progress. The Carney government is setting us back years by shrinking departments, automating jobs, devaluing care work, and weakening equality. These cuts mean increased workload due to vacancies not being filled, service delays that frontline workers are blamed for, and AI replacing human interactions. We hear from members across BC who are already feeling these pressures — working short-staffed, managing heavier workloads, and being asked to do more with fewer resources.
Who’s hardest hit? Underfunded, low-wage, precarious, and care-sector jobs where Indigenous, Black, racialized, immigrant, young, 2SLGBTQIA+, and folks with disabilities are overrepresented. This infringement of equality not only harms workers but also the vital services they provide. When women and gender diverse folks’ jobs are cut or devalued, communities lose access to the very services that hold them together.
Our strength as a union lies in recognizing intersecting injustices and organizing across them. From securing paid maternity and parental leave to improving pay equity, union solidarity has accelerated gender equality faster than waiting on policy alone.
Together with members across the region, we are committed to fighting for workplaces and communities where we have:
- Improved maternal and parental leave that truly supports all parents
- Universal, affordable, high-quality childcare
- Better supports for caregivers, including paid leave and flexibility
- More unionized public sector jobs for women and gender diverse folks
- Strong programs to prevent gender-based violence and support survivors
- Real pay equity for all women and gender diverse workers, including racialized, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQIA+, and workers with disabilities
- Safer workplaces, free from harassment and abuse
- A society that chooses care over cuts, and prosperity over austerity
International Women’s Day reminds us that progress is never permanent, it is protected and advanced through solidarity. Join us in demanding that the government commit to strengthening our communities by investing in the women and gender diverse folks that keep our country running.
In Solidarity,
Priscilla Lam
PSAC BC Women’s Coordinator
Jamey Mills
PSAC Regional Executive Vice-President, BC