On International Women’s Day, Let’s Return Women’s Struggle to its Workers’ Rights Roots

Every year, corporations post International Women’s Day sentiments without actually doing the work. We can’t let them.

Photo by Shaojie on Unsplash

International Women’s Day has always been a mixed day for me. On the one hand, I believe it’s important to honor all the women who fought for rights before me, who emphasized gender as an intersection of oppression. On the other, capitalism has turned the date into a performance of gender equality with absolutely no substance: brands and employers post IWD’s sentiments without actually reflecting on whether they actually support or do anything towards gender equality. There’s nothing stopping a brand who treats their women employees horrifically from invoking the history of IWD for their own gain — but in defiance of these corporate co-optations, we can remind ourselves that International Women’s Day was originally about workers’ rights.

While corporations might work every year to empty IWD of its original meaning, it’s worth remembering that the first National Woman’s Day was organized by the Socialist Party of America — not by a corporation or an employer. On February 28th, 1909 the Socialist Party of America dedicated the first National Women’s Day to the 1908 garment…