In an effort to continue the resisting and organizing that has taken place on behalf of women’s rights since the election and inauguration, the Women’s March has set a date for its general strike—Wednesday, March 8. That’s International Women’s Day!
In the spirit of women and their allies coming together for love and liberation, we offer A Day Without A Woman. #WomensMarch pic.twitter.com/SYOjHcXWR6
— Women’s March (@womensmarch) February 14, 2017
The strike has been dubbed “A Day Without A Woman,” and aims to demonstrate the significant contributions women make in the workforce and elsewhere by literally having women refuse to show up at those places. Very few details on the strike and how individuals should organize have been released so far, but an Instagram announcement suggests that details are to come.
The post also mentions an upcoming event this Friday, Strike4Democracy’s National Day of Action to Push Back Against Assaults on Democratic Principles. On Feb. 17, “Strike4Democracy will coordinate over 100 strike actions across the United States, and beyond, to plan for a series of mass strikes to stand up for America’s democratic principles,” the first of which is A Day Without A Woman.
Action items for Feb. 17 include not going to work, not buying anything and using your time to instead get in touch with representatives.
Additionally, tomorrow, Feb. 16, a strike has been planned called “A Day Without Immigrants,” which “calls for immigrants not to attend work, open their businesses, spend money or even send their children to school.” It is in response to the various attacks on immigrants that Donald Trump and his administration have enacted in recent months.
While A Day Without A Woman will certainly be monumental, I’m interested to see how the Women’s March makes considerations for those who can’t afford to strike. This strike will likely be exclusive of individuals who are living precarious lives, and these are disproportionately women of color, trans folks and people with disabilities. The Women’s March made a lot of people who aren’t white, cis women feel feel excluded, and hopefully they’ll learn from those missteps.