International Women’s Day 8 March: An IWW International Statement 2026

On this International Working Women’s Day, we salute the countless women, femmes and gender-oppressed people everywhere who organise, fight and build solidarity in workplaces, communities and movements. This day originated in working-class struggle against exploitation and continues as a reminder that liberation is incomplete so long as capitalism, patriarchy, imperialism and state repression dominate our lives.

Around the world we face converging crises that deepen inequality and violence against women and all oppressed people. In zones of war and occupation including Gaza and other sites of genocidal violence women bear the brunt of state terror, displacement and structural starvation, standing strong amid immense suffering. The resurgence of autocratic and fascistic movements globally reinforces systems that deny bodily autonomy, curtail basic freedoms and scapegoat marginalised communities.

We condemn imperialist aggression that wreaks havoc across continents from economic warfare and sanctions to proxy conflicts and foreign interventions. The dignity and sovereignty of nations must be respected, not undermined by external domination or corporate interests. Working women in these regions are on the frontlines defending autonomy and community resilience against both external pressures and internal repression.

Patriarchy persists as a structural engine of oppression that intersects with racial, economic and colonial hierarchies. Women continue to face wage gaps, unpaid care burdens, gender-based violence and discriminatory access to healthcare and labour rights - realities reinforced by systems that commodify people and prioritise profit over wellbeing.

Capitalism thrives on exploitation, extracting surplus value from working women’s labour while offloading social costs onto the most vulnerable. We recognise that our liberation is bound up with the fight against capitalist exploitation and that gender liberation cannot be fully achieved within systems that depend on inequality and class oppression.

This 8th of March, we pledge:

• Solidarity with all exploited and oppressed women, femmes and gender-oppressed people in workplaces, health systems, universities, homes and borders.

• Resistance to imperialism, war and state violence wherever they occur.

• An end to systemic patriarchy, racism and capitalist exploitation that deny basic rights and dignity.

• Collective action for workers’ power, democratic control of labour and resources, and genuine equality.

To build a world where every woman can live free from violence, poverty and discrimination, we must strengthen international working-class unity and not only celebrate but organise, agitate and build institutions of mutual aid and collective struggle.

Our liberation is a collective project rooted in worker solidarity across borders and communities.

Women to the front, not just today, but every day. #8M #IWD #IWD2026 #IWW