Female Workers Asked To Join In 'A Day Without A Woman' Protests

A broad coalition of groups across the nation is encouraging women to participate in Wednesday's strike, called "A Day Without A Woman."

The organized protest comes on International Women's Day and follows the successful Women's March in January.

That mass protest on Jan. 21 — President Trump's first full day in office –- saw huge crowds of demonstrators converge on the nation's capital, and other rallies in cities across the country and the world.

The protest aims to highlight the economic power of women — as well as ongoing problems of discrimination and pay disparity.

To show their economic importance and impact on society, women are being encouraged to take the day off from paid and unpaid labor and not to shop — except at women and minority owned and small businesses.

The National Domestic Workers Alliance has endorsed the strike.

Ai Jen Poo, who directs the group, which advocates for housekeepers, elder care and child care workers, says it's a vital labor pool that's too often grossly underpaid and undervalued.

"This is an opportunity for women, like the low-wage workers that I work with, to join together with women everywhere to say 'women power this economy,' to have that be visible and recognized and to think together about how we might shape the future with that power."

"A Day Without A Woman" gained momentum in reaction to President Trump's policies and comments on women — especially immigrants and Muslims. But planning for the strike predates the Trump administration. Inspiration came from International Women's Day events outside the United States, where the day is more widely observed.

Last month, immigrants and supporters participated in a "Day Without Immigrants." Some schools and businesses were forced to close because of a lack of workers or to open with skeleton staffs. Some closed to support their employees or held votes to decide whether to open.

Other such strikes have been carried out by bodega workers and taxi drivers in New York.

One unionized group of workers showing interest in the women's protest are school teachers: 76 percent of public school teachers in the U.S. are women.

Faced with large numbers of staffers planning to take the day off for the strike, the school systems in Alexandria, Va., Prince Georges County, Md., Chapel Hill, N.C., and others told students to stay home.

The decision for schools to close has put some parents in a bind when it comes to child care.

The Associated Press reports:

"The role of women in American society is significant.

"According to the U.S. Census, women make up more than 47 percent of the workforce and are dominant in such professions as registered nurses, dental assistants, cashiers, accountants and pharmacists.

"They make up at least a third of physicians and surgeons, as well as lawyers and judges. Women also represent 55 percent of all college students.

"Still, American women continue to be paid less than men, earning 80 cents for every dollar a man makes. The median income for women was $40,742 in 2015, compared with $51,212 for men, according to census data."

In Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, there will be a "Women Workers Rising" rally outside the Labor Department.

Organizers are calling on supporters to come and "be in solidarity with women workers — for an end to workplace violence and harassment and to promote pay equity, one fair living wage, paid leave and labor rights at work."

Some conservatives on social media are calling the women's strike vague and self-serving, and say it favors wealthy women.

Organizers are calling on all those who can't take time off for the protest to wear red in solidarity.

They say red signifies love and sacrifice.

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