{"id":13000,"date":"2026-03-08T14:46:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T19:46:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/?p=13000"},"modified":"2026-03-08T14:49:56","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T19:49:56","slug":"international-womens-day-2026-where-are-we-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/?p=13000","title":{"rendered":"International Women\u2019s Day 2026 \u2014 Where Are We Now?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-International-Womens-day-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13001\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-International-Womens-day-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-International-Womens-day-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-International-Womens-day-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-International-Womens-day-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-International-Womens-day.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Every year on March 8, UNE joins a global movement that began more than a century ago \u2014 rooted in labour activism, collective struggle, and the fight for equality. International Women\u2019s Day has never been only a celebration. It has always been a call to action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2026, that call still matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Across UNE, women continue to shape our union through their leadership, their advocacy, and their everyday contributions. We are proud of the women who strengthen our movement \u2014 but pride alone isn\u2019t enough. Equity requires action, solidarity, and honest conversations about where we are and where we still need to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Women remain an equity\u2011seeking group in workplaces across Canada, including within our own union structures. Progress is real, but so are the gaps. And while representation has improved, representation alone doesn\u2019t guarantee equity. The work continues \u2014 on the shop floor, in leadership spaces, and in the everyday interactions that shape our workplaces and communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What Has Changed \u2014 and What Hasn\u2019t<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Across UNE, we\u2019ve seen meaningful steps forward:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>More women stepping into leadership roles<\/li><li>Stronger equity language in collective agreements<\/li><li>Growing awareness of gender\u2011based barriers<\/li><li>Increased visibility of Indigenous, racialized, 2SLGBTQIA+, and disabled women\u2019s experiences<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>But we also see the ongoing challenges:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Pay inequity that persists across sectors<\/li><li>Disproportionate caregiving responsibilities<\/li><li>Harassment and discrimination that remain underreported<\/li><li>Barriers to advancement, especially for marginalized women<\/li><li>Workplaces that still default to systems built without women in mind<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These realities remind us that equity isn\u2019t a milestone \u2014 it\u2019s a practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Equity is a union issue.<\/strong><br>When any group faces systemic barriers, the entire labour movement is weakened. When we remove those barriers, we strengthen our collective power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At UNE, solidarity means showing up for each other \u2014 not only when it\u2019s easy, but when it requires reflection, learning, and change. It means listening to women\u2019s experiences, believing them, and acting on what we hear. It means recognizing that gender equity intersects with race, class, disability, sexuality, and culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A Conversation Worth Having<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This year, we\u2019re inviting UNE members to reflect with us:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>What does progress look like in 2026?<\/li><li>Where are the barriers still showing up?<\/li><li>How do we build a union where every woman \u2014 every sibling \u2014 can thrive?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These aren\u2019t rhetorical questions. They\u2019re an invitation to shape the future of our movement together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Moving Forward, Together<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>International Women\u2019s Day is a reminder that equity doesn\u2019t happen by accident. It happens through collective action, shared responsibility, and the courage to keep pushing for better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019re proud of the women in UNE. We\u2019re proud of the progress we\u2019ve made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>We move forward when we move together.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Further Reading <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Canadian Human Rights Commission.<\/strong> <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chrc-ccdp.gc.ca\/resources\/publications\/pay-equity-commissioners-2024-2025-annual-report\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Pay Equity Commissioner Annual Report 2024\u20132025.<\/em> Government of Canada, 2025.<\/a><br>Overview of ongoing pay equity gaps and compliance challenges across federally regulated workplaces.<\/li><li><strong>Government of Canada.<\/strong> <em><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/equivision.services.gc.ca\/\" target=\"_blank\">Equi&#8217;Vision: An Employment Equity Tool<\/a><\/em><\/li><li><strong>Government of Canada.<\/strong> <em><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/women-gender-equality\/gender-equality\/facts-stats-impact.html\" target=\"_blank\">Facts, stats, and impact: Gender equality<\/a><\/em><\/li><li><strong>Statistics Canada.<\/strong> <em><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www150.statcan.gc.ca\/n1\/daily-quotidien\/240212\/dq240212a-info-eng.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Gender Results Framework: Workplace Harassment and Sexual<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every year on March 8, UNE joins a global movement that began more than a century ago \u2014 rooted in labour activism, collective struggle, and the fight for equality. International Women\u2019s Day has never been only a celebration. It has always been a call to action. In 2026, that call still matters. Across UNE, women &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/?p=13000\" class=\"more-link\">>><span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;International Women\u2019s Day 2026 \u2014 Where Are We Now?&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7,171,19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13000"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13000"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13000\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13008,"href":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13000\/revisions\/13008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}