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Unifor marked International Women’s Day at rallies, dinners and marches across the country and at the United Nations where the 59th session of the United Nation’s Commission on the Status of Women was held in New York City.
“International Women’s Day gives us a chance to celebrate the progress that has been made on the rights of women. But more importantly, it gives us a chance to push harder to ensure that progress continues to be made,” said Lisa Kelly, Unifor Women’s Director.
Kelly was at the UN as part of the Canadian trade union delegation organized by the Canadian Labour Congress. It has been 20 years since the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action on gender equality and human rights of women and girls.
Unifor and the rest of the Canadian delegation joined more than 1,000 groups from around the world pushing for a stronger declaration marking the 20th anniversary. They criticized the Declaration issued on March 9th as simply reflecting the status quo, rather than making progress, and said the drafting process marginalized feminist organizations – sparking the protest “nothing about us, without us”.
In Canada, Unifor was out in force at several marches, rallies and dinners, including in Halifax, Oshawa, Kitchener, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver. Women called for action on equal pay, childcare and an end to violence against women.
As well, Unifor donated $100,000 to shelters and other organizations helping women across Canada.
