The 69th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) concluded with unions and civil society organizations playing a critical role in urging governments worldwide to step up progress on women’s rights and gender justice. CUPE actively participated in the meetings in New York City, represented by CUPE’s Regional Vice-President for Ontario Yolanda McClean and Human Rights Director Kimalee Phillip.
CUPE joined a global delegation of union women led by the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and Public Services International (PSI) advocating for gender justice and inclusivity on an international stage. We were among the labour leaders emphasizing that we must fight for a future where gender equity includes everyone — women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people.
The global delegation put forward five key demands: gender equality as essential to social justice, democracy and peace; recognition of women’s labour rights as human rights; decent work for women; equal pay for work of equal value; and a world free from workplace gender-based violence and harassment. Delegates highlighted the importance of recognizing care work as both a human right and a public good, affirmed that trade union rights are integral to women’s rights, and underscored the critical role of the labour movement in achieving gender equity.
“Being part of this global delegation was powerful – especially while hearing Canada’s new Prime Minister eliminate our Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth,” said Yolanda McClean. “Strong unions, thriving communities and quality public services are needed more than ever in the fight for women and gender equity.”
CUPE delivered a powerful presentation on migrant women’s rights, highlighting the challenges migrant women workers face and reflecting on the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action at a parallel event organized by PSI. The presentation included shared stories from the ongoing struggle for migrant justice on the ground.
This year marked the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BDPA), a blueprint established to combat gender discrimination and advance women’s rights globally. During this year’s two-week session, delegates assessed the Declaration’s achievements and planned ways to tackle what still needs to be done.
The global labour delegation advocated for – and succeeded in gaining – stronger language on decent work, care work and social protection in the Political declaration on the Occasion of the Thirtieth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women adopted on March 6, 2025 by member states. However, delegates were deeply troubled by the absence of explicit language on sexual and reproductive health rights and the inclusion of public-private partnerships in the declaration.
“Labour activism is more crucial than ever with the deepening of corporate capture of the United Nations. Governments face mounting pressure to privatize and sell off public services. The far-right is continuing and intensifying attacks on trans, migrant, Indigenous, Black, and racialized women, threatening reproductive justice and gender diversity,” said National Secretary-Treasurer, Candace Rennick. “We were proud to send a delegation and be part of this historic event.”
Thirty years after the BDPA, migrant women workers continue to face insecurity related to visa status, precarious jobs and social precarity, racism, dehumanization, trafficking, and forced labour. Union activists participated in a march and rally titled “No Backlash to Women’s Rights”, co-organized by PSI, the Women and Migration Network, the International Trade Union Confederation, the International Domestic Workers’ Federation, and other allies. Collectively, we spoke out against the growing global backlash on women’s rights, workers’ rights, migrant rights, trans rights, and occupied peoples’ rights.