If we want to smash sexism, we have to smash the ­capitalist system too. And the only way to do that is through a ­revolutionary movement led by working class women and men.

That’s what the creators of International Women’s Day (IWD) on 8 March thought. German revolutionary socialist Clara Zetkin first proposed IWD in 1910. She wanted it to be a global cry of rage against capitalist injustice. And she wanted to ­highlight how women ­workers were striking back against the system of ­exploitation and oppression.

This is the tradition that revolutionary socialists stand in today.

It can appear ­counter ­intuitive to talk about ­capitalism when discussing how to take on sexism. But it’s not an ­unfortunate accident that sexism and ­capitalism both impact our lives. Women’s oppression is woven into how the system functions.

Part of the way that is ­structured into capitalism is through the institution of the family. In class societies like ours, the family plays a key role in raising and socialising the next generation of workers.

Women, and to a lesser extent men, do that crucial caring for free in their families.

Families are often places where people enjoy love and support, but the capitalist nuclear family limits women’s lives. It has both an economic and ideological role in justifying sexist ideas.

Women’s caring roles within the family are used to justify low pay and segregation into jobs that are centred around looking after others. As most care is delivered by working class women, sexist ideas are then piled on top to explain away this imbalance.

The family takes up women’s entire lives. It shapes what jobs they do, their ­relationships, how they see themselves and how others view them.

Sexism means there are huge differences in how women and men experience the world – from sexual harassment to ­unequal pay. ­ And women suffer sexism at the hands of individual men.

Socialists have to stand up to all manifestations of sexism, whoever they affect.

At the same time, we ­understand that what drives sexism is how it is structured into society and the function it plays.

Focusing on the role of the family helps us to ­understand that working class men don’t benefit from women’s oppression. Many men would like to spend more time with their kids but are forced to spend long hours in “breadwinner” type jobs that bring in higher wages. Cuts in welfare support for families and expensive ­childcare make men’s lives worse too.

And it’s not positive for men that attacks on abortion rights mean people can’t choose their family size. In fact, it is the rich and powerful who really benefit from this set up.

Sexism damages the wider unity in the working class that makes it harder to mount an effective fightback against those who run the system.

Directing our anger at the wider system as well as at i­ndividuals has implications for how we fight back.

Zetkin wanted to lift up ­women’s struggles, and she argued for a united struggle in the working class. “We must not place the interests of male and female workers in hostile ­opposition to each other,” she wrote.

“But we must unite them both into a unified mass that represents workers’ interests in general, in opposition to the interests of capital.” Zetkin argued there was “an irreconcilable class antagonism”.

This splits capitalist ­society “into the exploiters and rulers, on the one hand, and the exploited and ruled, on the other”.

This may come as a shock to lazy historians who ­subsequently declared her a “f­eminist” rather than a ­revolutionary socialist. If she were alive today, there is no doubt that Zetkin would furiously kick back at such a characterisation.

There have always been debates among socialists about how to approach, ­intervene in and shape wider social movements.

Zetkin led the way in ­arguing that Marxists should celebrate all movements that rise up against the sexist system. She was right to argue that there are differences between people who identify as Marxists and those who identify as feminists, even though they share a ­commitment to ending ­women’s oppression. And she was also right to say that the working class was the only force capable of smashing the system.

Sometimes resistance in ­capitalist society can take ­unexpected forms. Any movement will be full of debate, whether that’s about the causes of oppression, the most important immediate demands and the best way forward.

The exploitation and ­oppression of capitalism ­compels people to fight back—and resistance constantly draws in new layers of people with ­different ideas. Socialists have to build these movements—and argue inside them about how we could win.

Today, the “common sense” of fighting oppression is one that seeks to understand ­different experiences and to win change within capitalism.

Understanding experiences is an important starting point and can be a catalyst to action. But it’s not enough to win. And there is a limit to how far-reaching the changes will be under the current system of oppression and exploitation.

If sexism is systematic, we have to ask what’s the force that can smash it?

We are strongest when we are together. But it’s not just a question of numbers—it is about who we choose to fight with. For lots of people, it makes sense that all women will want to join together to fight sexism. The richest women share some experiences with working class women.

But they can effectively buy themselves protection from some of the worst elements of oppression. And crucially, it’s not in their class interests to fight against a capitalist system that is deeply sexist but that they benefit from. The women who become CEOs are not kinder to their low-paid woman workers. They might be irritated by finding their path to the top blocked by Trump-loving men. But these are women who have amassed their vast fortunes within the ­capitalist system—they will actively battle any attempt to challenge it.

So uniting on the basis of a shared gender identity isn’t enough to win.

It’s a cliche that Marxists talk a lot about class. But Marxists go on about class because of the unique role that it plays in the capitalist system. Capitalist exploitation doesn’t just produce horror for the individual.

As workers are the source of profit and keep the system ­running, they have a unique power to strike back against it. All uprisings against the system have the potential to cause an almighty ruckus.

Most positive changes to ­women’s lives have been the result of social movements that demanded change.

Every time there is an ­opportunity to kick back at sexism, similar arguments develop about who the real enemy is, and the ­organisational implications from this political analysis.

Ultimately, Marxists see a workers’ revolution as the way to smash sexism.

Revolution is a process, rather than a dramatic set piece event. It’s one where ordinary people take over the levers of power, such as government departments, transport hubs, universities and factories.

A socialist revolution isn’t just about economic changes. It would open the ­possibility of changing every aspect of how we live and think about the world.

History shows us that women will not just be part of any mass uprising against the system—they will be actively leading it. Working class women are agents of their own liberation. They are not simply victims of a sexist society—they are the best people to challenge it.

Marxists want to replace ­capitalism with socialism. Socialism is a system where ordinary people get to make decisions about how society is run. We don’t believe it’s possible to truly change the system just through patiently convincing everyone that a different kind of world is possible.

A truly socialist society would be wildly different for women. Instead of women spending their lives toiling away folding laundry or grilling fish fingers, domestic duties will be partly undertaken communally. There will be laundry blocks and ­community kitchens on high streets. Instead of costing the earth, childcare will be high quality and free for parents.

And it would challenge sexist ideas about women’s role in society and open up the ­possibility of sexual liberation.­ People will not be limited by the oppression and exploitation that invades their every waking moment today.

That’s the future that Clara Zetkin was eyeing up when shefirst suggested International Women’s Day. That’s the future we should be fighting for in 2025.