As the world marks International Women’s Day on 08 March, domestic workers across the globe raise their voices under a simple and urgent demand: Justice is not symbolic, it must be structural.
At the 70th Commission on the Status of Women, as governments deliberate on access to justice for all women and girls, the International Domestic Workers Federation (IDWF) calls for a clear recognition: There can be no access to justice without labour rights, and no gender, racial, economic and migrant justice without decent work.
There are at least 75.6 million domestic workers worldwide, more than 85% of whom are women. Many are migrant, racialized or working under precarious conditions. For millions of them, justice remains out of reach. The barriers to decent work are not only legal; they are systemic and structural. Weak or non-existent labour inspections systems, exclusion from labour protections in theory or in practice, informality of employment, lack of social protection, systemic inequalities rooted in interlocking discriminations and shrinking civic space undermine workers’ ability to claim their rights.
As trade unions have emphasized in the negotiations of the CSW70 Agreed Conclusions, the following priorities must remain central:
- The right to organize and bargain collectively
- Equal pay for work of equal value
- Violence and harassment in the world of work
- Universal social protection systems
- The transition from informal to formal work
Access to justice requires enforceable labour law, strong public institutions, and protection of civic space. Trade unions must be recognized as central actors of implementation.
This year’s CSW is taking place in a shifting context. With negotiations conducted prior to arrival in New York, the role of civil society and workers’ organizations must evolve from advocacy to proactive agenda-setting and movement building. If space narrows inside negotiations rooms, we expand our alliances, strategies, and collective action.
Care is at the heart of this struggle
Care work sustains economies and societies, yet it remains undervalued, underpaid and unprotected. As highlighted in our 10 March Care Day convening, advancing access to justice requires recognizing care as a human right and a global public good. Care must be grounded in public investment, decent work, and workers’ voices. Justice for women demands recognition, redistribution of resources, collective power and representation.
Access to justice must also protect children hidden within domestic work. Globally, an estimated 7.1 million children are engaged in domestic work, one of the most invisible and under-regulated form of child labour. Eliminating child domestic labour requires immediate solutions: living wages for adult workers, universal social protection, access to education, and the formalization and regulation of domestic work. Domestic workers are part of the solution as we reaffirmed during the 6th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child labour.
Throughout CSW70, IDWF and our allies are convening spaces that connect feminist, labour, climate, migrant and democracy movements. Access to justice cannot be achieved in isolation. It requires:
- Strong, integrated care systems;
- Universal social protection;
- Effective labour inspection and enforcement;
- Democratic worker representation;
- Ratification and effective implementation of ILO Convention 189 on decent work for domestic workers and Convention 190 on violence and harassment in the world of work;
- Cross-movement alliances that protect civic space and collective voice.
As we continue our International Women’s Day campaign beyond 8 March, domestic workers reaffirm: Justice is not granted, it is organized and protected!
Looking ahead to CSW72 in 2028, when care systems will be formally on the agenda, we commit to building power, alliances and evidence needed to ensure that care justice is not co-opted, but that it is anchored in decent work, human rights, public financing, and democratic participation.
Access to justice must move from paper to practice. From promises to protection. From recognition to redistribution.
Domestic workers are not asking to be included, we are shaping the agenda!
IDWF at CSW70
IDWF is co-hosting the following events during CSW70:
10 March
Towards a Gender-Just Economy: Care as a Human Right and a Global Public Good
8:30 – 17:30
Location: Ford Foundation Social Justice Center
This convening will advance a transformative care agenda through dialogue, shared learning, and strategic exchange. The day will include a morning session followed by an afternoon session strategy meeting focused on joint action toward CSW72 (2028).
16 March
Access to Justice: A Critical Feminist Labour Agenda
8:30 – 12:30
Location: Ford Foundation Social Justice Center
This roundtable will explore how a labour feminist framework can counter corporate dominance and democratic decline, identify the capacities needed to defend economic justice, and examine how collective action can drive the implementation of more inclusive policies and practices.
16 March
Reimagining Justice Decent Work for Women
Trade Unions Parallel Event at CSW70
16:30 – 18:00
Location: Church Center 11th Floor
This event will spotlight key trade union demands for the CSW70 Agreed Conclusions, including gender-responsive justice systems, effective labour inspection and courts, protection of freedom of association and collective bargaining, and the ratification and implementation of core ILO standards. It will underscore that access to justice is not abstract, it is the foundation of economic justice and decent work for women in all their diversity.
17 March
Organizing for Justice for Women Care Workers
14:30 – 16:00
Location: Salvation Army lower level
This event brings together labour justice organizations across the formal-informal divide to explore how different parts of the labour movement can build power together. It will examine why closing representational gaps strengthens not only for labour rights, but also the resilience and legitimacy of democratic institutions at a time when democracy itself is under pressure.
Follow Trade Union CSW70 calendar: https://unioncsw.world-psi.org/events
