Women send a message
Thousands across the nation skip work, wear red and rally for gender equality.
Women around the country gathered on Wednesday in a show of economic clout aimed at bringing attention to the discrimination they face. Above, Layah Shagalow stands beside a temporary statue of a little girl in New York, staring down Wall Street’s “Charging Bull” statue.
WASHINGTON — Women across the nation took Wednesday off, refrained from shopping, dressed in red and attended rallies to bring attention to their economic clout and the discrimination they face in the workplace and beyond.
Dubbed “A Day Without A Woman,” it was a second act by the organizers of the massive “Women’s March” in Washington and around the globe the day after President Trump was inaugurated.
The impact was hard to gauge. A number of schools and businesses closed for the day or gave female employees the day off. But the crowds who turned out in Washington, New York, Los Angeles and many other places were tiny compared with the millions who flooded the streets on Jan. 21.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, flanked by other congresswomen and staff members, addressed a group of cheering supporters from the steps of the U.S. Capitol. Many carried signs reading “Women’s rights are human rights” and “Equal pay for equal work.”
“We are in solidarity with women across the country and across the world,” said Pelosi, who delivered a call for girls’ education and the full participation of women in electoral politics. “When women succeed, the world succeeds.”
But for all the excitement, working women were a visible presence here and in other cities.
Some said they had not heard of “A Day Without A Woman.” Others were just too busy or cash-strapped to take part.
Some said the protests could have been better promoted.
“I guess we didn’t get the memo,” said Tonya Murray, a call-center worker who was smoking a cigarette on Peachtree Street in Atlanta during her morning break. “We have 60 people working, and only two guys.”
Even if she had known, though, she wouldn’t have participated. She started her job just two weeks ago and didn’t want to give her boss the wrong impression.
Still, she thought a strike was a good idea.
“Women are the backbone of this country,” she said. “We do it all — we are the most organized and compassionate workers — and we do it knowing our counterparts are paid more.”
Protest organizers acknowledged that many women couldn’t afford to take time off and said on their website, “We strike for them.” They also encouraged women to wear the color red as a sign of solidarity.
The protests were timed to coincide with International Women’s Day, which dates back to the early 1900s and is marked with strikes and rallies to celebrate the achievements of women and call for gender equality.
Trump urged his Twitter followers to join him Wednesday in “honoring the critical role of women here in America & around the world.”
“I have tremendous respect for women and the many roles they serve that are vital to the fabric of our society and our economy,” he tweeted.
Women make up more than 47% of the U.S. workforce and dominate certain professions, including nursing and teaching, census data show.
School districts including Alexandria City Public Schools in Virginia and Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland canceled classes Wednesday because of the number of staffers who requested time off.
In Prince George’s County, the closures sent many parents scrambling for last-minute care for their children in the district of 130,000 students. Unaware of the protest, some showed up at school with kids to drop off.
District officials in Alexandria tried to alleviate such problems by opening city recreation centers to the 15,000 children getting an unexpected day off.
In New York, women joked that the first participant in Wednesday’s strike was none other than the city’s most illustrious female resident, Lady Liberty.
For several hours Tuesday night, the Statue of Liberty went dark, her body and robes cloaked in black with only her torch shining on New York Harbor. The National Park Service, which operates the monument, blamed a “technical glitch.” But to some, the timing seemed too perfect to be coincidental.
Women in New York were also delighted by the sudden appearance on Wall Street of a bronze statue of a young girl, who appears to be staring down the iconic statue of a bull. Called “Fearless Girl,” it was commissioned by the financial firm State Street Global Advisors to protest the shortage of women on corporate boards.
In Washington, marchers gathered in a downtown plaza to protest the restoration of a policy requiring that overseas family-planning groups refrain from performing or promoting abortions as a condition for receiving U.S. aid.
“We’re very worried about women’s healthcare, but also about all kinds of other rights and progress being rolled back,” said Michele Cordoba, a marketer from Sherman Oaks who came to Washington on business and stayed for the march.
With flashes of red standing out on the streets and in the city’s Metro system, a number of Washington businesses lent symbolic support — and made cash donations to women’s causes.