Rain slicked the pavement outside a community centre as a cluster of women folded leaflets and passed thermoses between them. It was a small rehearsal of collective work: planning chants, mapping routes, and sharing stories of low pay and impossible workloads. That afternoon, as preparations for women’s day gathered pace, the room felt like a living manifesto of the themes driving this year’s observances — pay, care and the fight for dignity.
What does Women’s Day mean for working-class women?
For many public service workers, the question is immediate and material. UNISON frames the issue bluntly: the gender pay gap averages 12. 8%, with education and health and social care gaps at 17% and 12. 8% respectively. “The gender pay gap means that the average woman works the first 47 days of the year for free, ” the union states, turning an abstract statistic into a daily reality for millions. Women who make up the majority of the public service workforce describe the consequences as stacked — unsafe staffing levels, low pay, discrimination and workloads that stretch beyond endurance.
How are women in music using IWD2026 to be heard?
The conversations at the community centre echoed in other spaces: rehearsal rooms, festival offices and late-night club booths. Women in the music industry are using IWD2026 to surface representation gaps and the barriers that keep talented performers and promoters from progressing. Martha Bolton, Founder & Director of NOT BAD FOR A GIRL, described a pattern she has seen from the start of her career: “After starting my career in the music industry, I noticed that while socially I was surrounded by all of these incredibly talented women, trans people and non-binary people, my colleagues were predominantly cis men. Despite public-facing media campaigns and diversity drives, they still weren’t being given the support and opportunities they needed to make it professionally in music. “
Voices across the scene amplify that point. Caitlin McAllister, Managing Director at Ministry of Sound, Gemma Curtis, co-founder of GemFest, Luna, a social creator with a large following on TikTok, CODA, an artist-composer-vocalist, and Goga Dandy, promoter/DJ with Unhinged Wales, all surface themes of visibility, safe spaces and career pathways. The thread tying these accounts to those in public services is clear: representation matters not only for recognition but for access to work that pays and to conditions that sustain a life.
What actions are unions and organizers calling for?
Organizing — not polite waiting — is presented as the lever of change. UNISON points to gains won by collective action: improvements in pay and conditions, stronger maternity rights, domestic abuse support, more flexible working and equality protections. The union urges broader policy moves as well, including increased access to paid parental leave so caregiving can be shared more fairly, and flags the Employment Rights Act as a step along the road to pay parity while stressing the need for faster, larger reforms.
Equality and dignity are also framed as inclusive demands. UNISON states a firm stance in defence of LGBT+ rights and identifies as a trans ally, stressing that discrimination in any form has no place in workplaces. In the cultural sector, organisers and artists are erecting platforms and festivals specifically to lift underrepresented talent, training promoters and creating safer line-ups so that careers can be built on merit rather than tokenism.
Back in the rain-slicked community centre, the women folded leaflets into neat stacks and reviewed phone trees. The plans they made that afternoon were both tactical and aspirational: a petition here, a workplace meeting there, and a commitment to keep organizing. As the city prepared for women’s day marches and events, the small room felt less like an end and more like a hinge — a place where everyday grievances are shaped into demands that could change pay packets, shift care policies and broaden the stages where women are seen and heard.
