Women go on strike to show economic clout

PHILADELPHIA – Many American women stayed home from work, joined rallies or wore red Wednesday to demonstrate how vital they are to the U.S. economy, as International Women’s Day was observed with a multitude of events around the world.

The Day Without a Woman protest in the U.S. was put together by organizers of the vast women’s marches that drew more than 1 million Americans the day after President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

The turnout on the streets this time was much smaller in many places, with crowds often numbering in the hundreds. There were no immediate estimates of how many women heeded the call to skip work.

“Trump is terrifying. His entire administration, they have no respect for women or our rights,” said 49-yearold Adina Ferber, who took a vacation day from her job at an art gallery to attend a demonstration in New York City. “They need to deal with us as an economic force.”

The U.S. event – inspired in part by the Day Without an Immigrant protest held last month – was part of the U.N.designated International Women’s Day.

A crowd of about 1,000 people, the vast majority of them women, gathered on New York’s Fifth Avenue in the shadow of Trump Tower. Women wore red and waved signs reading “Nevertheless she persisted,” “Misogyny out of the White House now” and “Resist like a girl.” Thirteen people were arrested for blocking traffic, police said.

School in such places as Prince George’s County, Md.; Alexandria, Va.; and Chapel Hill, N.C., canceled classes after hundreds of teachers and other employees let it be known they would be out. In Providence, R.I., the municipal court closed for lack of staff members.

In Washington, more than 20 Democratic female representatives walked out of the Capitol to address a cheering crowd of several hundred people.

Dressed in red, the lawmakers criticized efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi encouraged more women to go into politics, saying, “You have marched for progress. Now you must run for office.”

A few hundred people gathered on the lawn outside Los Angeles City Hall to rally for women’s rights.

Associated Press Women chant and raise their signs during a rally, part of International Women’s Strike NYC, a coalition of dozens of grassroots groups and labor organizations, on Wednesday at Washington Square Park in New York.