8 March is not only a day to remember past struggles. It is also a global day of solidarity that renews and strengthens the ongoing struggle to protect the rights women have gained through great sacrifice and to advance new rights for the future.

8 March is a powerful call to continue, with determination, the struggle to ensure that women fully enjoy their rights in all areas of social, economic, and political life.

Women are the cornerstone of societies and economies.
Without women’s labour, economies cannot function.
Without women’s labour, societies cannot stand.

Women are the architects of strong families and healthy societies.

In production, public services, education, healthcare, and care work, women are the fundamental force that sustains life. Women’s labour is an indispensable pillar of social welfare.

Yet today millions of women still face discrimination, precarious employment, and violations of the principle of equal pay for equal work. Every crisis further deepens existing inequalities.

Although wars, armed conflicts, economic crises, the climate crisis, and forced migration affect all segments of society, women often bear the heaviest consequences of these multiple crises.

In situations of war and conflict, women carry not only the burden of violence and destruction, but also the harsh realities of poverty, insecurity, and social exclusion.

Millions of women living in situations of migration and displacement face multiple vulnerabilities, including informal and precarious work, limited access to social protection, discrimination, and the risk of exploitation and abuse.

Yet women are not merely victims of crises. Women are also among the strongest agents of resilience, solidarity, and social transformation.

Even in the most difficult circumstances, women have often been the ones who organized social solidarity, rebuilt life, and taken the lead in building a more just future.

For this reason, the path toward fair and sustainable solutions to global crises lies in strengthening women’s rights and the value of their labour.

As the International Labour Confederation, we clearly state:

• In a world where women’s labour is devalued, social justice cannot exist.
• Without guaranteeing women’s rights, democracy cannot be complete.
• Without ensuring women’s access to decent work, sustainable development cannot be achieved.

We know that rights do not come automatically; they are won through struggle.

Therefore, the International Labour Confederation calls for:

• The universal and non-negotiable recognition of equal pay for equal work.
• Full protection of women’s trade union and collective bargaining rights.
• Ensuring women’s access to secure and decent employment.
• The elimination of all forms of violence, harassment, and discrimination in the workplace.
• Protection of the labour and social rights of migrant and refugee women in accordance with international standards.
• Recognition of care work and the fair restructuring of the care economy.
• Strengthening social dialogue and trade union organisation as essential tools for protecting women’s economic and social rights.
• Empowering women within the trade union movement and ensuring their effective participation in decision-making mechanisms.
• Guaranteeing women’s equal access to education, professional development, and economic opportunities.

We remain committed to strengthening global trade union solidarity to protect women’s hard-won rights, promote justice in working life, and advance new social rights.

Women’s labour is not invisible.
Women’s labour is indispensable.
Women’s labour lies at the heart of the struggle for justice and equality.

A more just world is possible only by strengthening women’s rights and the value of their labour.

To be a woman is to expand the world with courage and compassion.

We honour with respect and solidarity all women who have suffered under wars, conflicts, and crises, and we salute those who, even in the face of overwhelming adversity, refused to surrender and continued their struggle with courage to the very end.