Celebrating International Women’s Day

By Ed Miliband / @ed_miliband

It was in 1910 at the International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen that Clara Zetkin first tabled the idea of an International Women’s Day – a day each year, in every country of the world, to press for women’s demands.

Today we celebrate its centenary, and we look back on 100 years that have led to a transformation in the position of women – in Britain and across the world. Over those hundred years, thousands of individuals and groups have stood up as examples – to men as well as women – of the power of hard work and determination to bend history towards a better life for our children.

From the suffragettes who battled for a woman’s right to vote, to the workers at Dagenham, Halewood and elsewhere who refused to accept being paid less than men for doing the same work; from the women of Rwanda, who built a new democracy after their country’s horrific genocide, and ensured their parliament was the first in the world where women were in the majority – our progress has been won because people stood up to fight against injustice.

The Labour Party has always been on the side of that struggle, always restless for change. We are so proud of our heritage – from our role in advancing women’s suffrage to the Sex Discrimination Act; from the National Minimum Wage to the Equality Act; from Sure Start to tax credits to the Cancer Guarantee; and recently through All Women’s Shortlists and the crucial role they have played in improving the representation of women in our party and our parliament. Thirty two percent of Labour MPs are now women, compared with sixteen percent of Conservatives and twelve percent of Lib Dems. It remains our goal to ensure at least half our shadow cabinet is female.

We should hold that heritage dear as we continue the fight for equality in the future. Because despite the progress we have made over the past century, there is still much work to do to secure the type of equality and respect we believe in.

It is our priority to overcome the causes of the gender pay gap, the difficulty in balancing work and family, and the violence against women and sex trafficking that still blights us. And it is our priority to win equal representation and treatment for women in our parliament, in our government, and in our media. That is our moral responsibility.

I believe passionately in that timeless British promise: that the next generation should always do better than the last. That’s why our campaigns must continue, and it’s why, at this time of Conservative-led cuts, we must fight to secure a fairer settlement for women.

Already, this Conservative-led government has turned its back on the British promise and on the progress we have made together on women’s equality. They’ve delivered a budget that cuts too far, too fast, and which hits women twice as hard as men. In January 2011 the number of women claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance reached 449,200 – the highest figure since October 1996. The maternity allowance has been slashed, child benefit has been cut and the Child Trust Fund has gone.

It is our duty to resist that assault on the things that matter to people in this country. So we must strive to offer an economy that works for everyone – women as well as men. We must work for fairer representation for women on corporate boards, as well as in our democracy. We must have good jobs and economic growth so that we can build stronger families with better childcare options. And we must play a role in the world that is supportive of women at every step.

I’m grateful for the work of organisers and campaigners everywhere for arranging another brilliant International Women’s Day, and I send everyone my best wishes on this vital, century-old occasion.