100 Years of International Women's Day

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)
One hundred years ago, 15,000 women marched through New York City on the first International Women’s Day, demanding shorter working hours, better pay, voting rights and the end to child labor. Today, in virtually every country, women still face discrimination in the workplace. Consider that some 1.2 billion working women—about 40 percent of total world employment—earn less than men for the same jobs, are more likely to be unemployed and poor and face violence and harassment in the workplace. To address these issues and bring them to the forefront, the International Trade Union Confederation and Global Unions federation are launching a two-year “Global Campaign for Decent Work, Decent Life for Women” campaign. The AFL-CIO Executive Council meeting in San Diego this week endorsed and joined the campaign. Click here to read the full story. – report by James Parks, AFL-CIO Now Weblog