Vancouver International Women’s Day march

A march took place in Vancouver Sunday afternoon ahead of International Women’s Day (IWD).

The two-part event happened outside the Vancouver Art Gallery North Plaza, from 12 p.m. until 4 p.m.

A group of advocates, performers and Indigenous elders spoke in the first half followed by a march.

Organizers also invited attendees to an hourlong session of sign-making ahead of the march. They were seen giving out IWD pins to attendees.

Karissa Ketter, an organizer with the IWD march, tells CityNews although Canada is a wealthy and democratic country, it is still important to host these events because there are still challenges that women face.

“We still do live in a very patriarchal, colonial, capitalist society that continues to commit a lot of injustices and I think that acknowledging that we’ve come far but still using our voices is very important,” she said.

“I think we take a very intersectional approach to our feminism. So that is acknowledging the mental health crisis for everybody and for the wage gap, all of that. But we have a great variety of speakers.”

Organizers say in a social media post they wanted to involve people of all ages. The event aimed to be accessible to everyone.

“Our International Women’s Day March is for everyone and there’s no such thing as being too young for activism. Bring your children to Kid’s Corner on March 3rd!” it said.

The Kid’s Corner had feminist picture books, colouring books and crayons along with other fun things.

“Face painting and their own sign-making station. It’s never too early to start making a difference!” the organizers said.

According to organizers, International Women’s Day is a collective effort to create a world of gender equity and celebrate the achievements of women.

With files from Raynaldo Suarez.