On the occasion of March 8, we commemorate the tradition of women who organized in struggle for better working conditions, dignity - and not only. The aims of anarchosyndicalist organizations include not only the struggle of the working class to end exploitation in the workplace and in society in the field of labor relations - we wish to end exploitation, hierarchy, alienation and vertical social relations in general! And this means an end to any social relations that are disfavourable to women or others. We need to put an end to all forms of sexism, social and state mechanisms which discriminate against or put women in a subordinate position of any type.

In some countries where our International is active, women are coming under increased attack by the state and right-wing and conservative ideology. Many of our comrades today are fighting either to maintain freedom of reproductive choice to do win this. But this is far from the only issue which concerns us. Around the globe, the predominance of female labor in low-paying jobs is a general tendency, with many women in extremely precarious situations. We salute the women who are organizing to build a better future and to fight against their economic discrimination and exploitation.

We point out that we do not believe in vertical organization: our organizations are from below, without bosses and bureaucrats. For women, the horizontal organization offers more chances for active participation than the world of union bureaucracy; putting a few women at the top is not an answer since alienation is not solved by taking power over others, but by smashing power and building a new social relation.

However, we also recognize that there is still a gender imbalance in most fighting organizations and in much of the labor movement. This imbalance, cultivated by the norms of many societies, effects us also.

On this day, we send greetings to all of our women comrades in the IWA, to the many women who participate actively in workplace and other social struggles, who put in a lot of work in their unions and who are making an important contribution to the movement! May there be many more of us in the future, to spread this struggle throughout the globe and may there be new advances for us against the patriarchy and capital!

We also send greetings to other women comrades from the anarchist and libertarian social movements, who, along with us, are fighting for a new world, free of sexism, exploitation and inequality of all forms!

IWA Secretariat
March 8, 2014