March 8 marks International Women’s Day, a time to reflect on the progress women have made in the labour movement, and to push us forward towards where we need to go. 

Across the country, PSAC members are coming together to protect the hard-won gains that have transformed women’s lives, from parental leave to affordable childcare, from Pharmacare to pay equity and protections from harassment and gender-based violence. These victories remind us of what’s possible when workers organize, demand justice, and act together.  

None of these gains happened by chance. Women came together, shared their stories, and refused to back down. Step by step, we’ve built public programs that support women and their families. We continue to defend services, jobs, and policies that bring stability, security, and safety for all.  Each victory proves that collective action can strengthen our workplaces and our communities. 

Collective action is our best defence against an austerity-driven government

Cuts to public services threaten the progress we’ve made. Critical departments are shrinking, automation is taking jobs, and care work is being contracted out to profit‑driven companies. As a women‑driven union, where most PSAC members are women, these cuts hit our membership hardest: they mean lost pay, fewer services, and reduced childcare supports for the workers and families who rely on them.  

Women know firsthand that public service cuts deepen inequities, devalue their work, and slow progress toward gender equity. Gender equity is not a separate issue; it is central to Canada’s progress, security, and economy. 

When cuts weaken the public services that sustain communities, the hardest hit are underfunded, low-wage, precarious, and care-sector jobs. These sectors are where Indigenous, Black, racialized, immigrant, young women, 2SLGBTQIA+ women, and women with disabilities are overrepresented. Such cuts roll back equality and harm both the workers and the vital services they provide. 

This is why women continue to organize, advocate, and lead the fight for a more equal and just society for all. 

We’re in this fight together. Through collective action and active engagement in our union, we will build a society where everyone has the opportunity to live with dignity and to thrive. 

Together, we can build a world 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 good, unionized public sector jobs for women; 
• Strong programs to prevent gender-based violence and support survivors; 
• Real pay equity for all women, including racialized, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQIA+, and women with disabilities; 
• Safer workplaces, free from harassment and abuse; 
• A society that chooses care over cuts, and prosperity over austerity. 

Everyone benefits from a society that invests in women. 

At PSAC, we know women are more than just the working backbone of an equitable society: they are the leaders that will make that vision a reality.  

This International Women’s Day, we’re writing the next chapter by demanding that the government commits to strengthening our communities by investing in the women that keep our country running.