International Woman’s Day 2024 Rallies

The first IWD rally in Australia was held in 1928 in Sydney by The Militant Women’s Group. These radical women linked the struggle for women’s emancipation with class struggle, arguing that working women are exploited by the capitalist systems in Australia which kept them on lower wages and less secure work than men. As early as 1882, tailoresses at clothing factories across in Melbourne organised and took strike action against their employer’s pay cuts and piece rates. This sent textile factory bosses into panic and highlighted the industrial power of women, and their organising capacity and led to the creation of the first women’s union in Australia.

Women have used IWWD to fight for radical local and international causes. In 1949, Perth women organised the day around securing world peace and in 1971 organisers called for the release of Angela Davis, African-American feminist, philosopher and communist, from police custody. In 1981, speakers at the Melbourne march called for an end to the oppression of lesbians and advocated for the rights of working women.

When women workers unite, the forces for change become stronger. Let’s join hands in our respective territories, working together in solidarity for a more just, equal, and discrimination-free society.