Can't skip work? Flex muscle in other ways on Day Without a Woman

Dubbed "A Day Without a Woman," feminist leaders are urging supporters to wear red on Wednesday, International Women's Day, and take whatever actions they can to show their economic power — whether that's skipping work, avoiding spending money, or buying only from women-owned or minority-owned businesses.

The general strike is the latest step that organizers of January's Women's March on Washington say will help people to recognize the "enormous value that women of all backgrounds add to our socio-economic system — while receiving lower wages and experiencing greater inequities, vulnerability to discrimination, sexual harassment, and job insecurity."

Megan Collier, who leads a group from Michigan's Upper Peninsula for Women's March Michigan, is a stay-at-home mom. She said she can't strike by refusing to take care of her children Wednesday.

But she can do other things.

"We want people to strike if they’re able," she said. "If you can’t strike, we’re encouraging participation by having an economic impact in some other way.

“I'm not working that day. I'm not taking my kids to school that day. We're staying home, and we'll learn more about politics.”

- Jill Mitra, Clarkston, Mich.

"For example, don’t go shopping Wednesday. Don’t buy gas. Don’t buy groceries," Collier said. "If you must go shopping, buy from a local, woman-owned business. Open bank accounts at credit unions or small, local banks. Find a progressive woman who is running and support her."

The role of women in American society is significant. Women make up more than 47% of the workforce and are dominant in such professions as registered nurses, dental assistants, cashiers, accountants and pharmacists, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

They make up at least a third of physicians and surgeons, as well as lawyers and judges. Women also represent 55% 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.

If a woman must go to work, Collier said she should plan a mini act of resistance with other co-workers: Wear red, don a pussyhat like women wore at the Women's Marches, talk about women's value.

The idea is for women to flex their economic might and send a message that women's work matters, she said.

Elizabeth Meyer, a Branchburgh, N.J., resident who organized the Women's March in Trenton, N.J., said she will be wearing red.

"And I won't be spending money anywhere,'' she said. "I'm all stocked up for meals for my family for tomorrow so there won't be the usual shopping."

At the same time, a Texas-based group is encouraging women to show up to work. Leaders of Right2Speak say they are made up of women who serve as a counterbalance to what they're calling the far-left Women's March and the national Day Without a Woman, saying those events do not represent all women.

The nonprofit organization was formed in February in response to the demonstrations and protests that erupted across the USA in the days after the November election and Donald Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration.

"A number of us had become very frustrated with the intimidation across the nation, not only with the women's march, but all protesters,'' said Toni Anne Daschiell, founder of the group. "We felt we just didn't have a voice. We wanted our voices heard in a very respectful and positive way, and to empower and elevate women to feel comfortable and empowered to speak their mind in a positive way."

Daschiell said they are asking women to go to work and her organization is having power lunches in key cities to show they are not taking the day off.

Schools in New York, North Carolina and Virginia have sent notes home to parents saying they'll be closed as teachers take the day off in honor of International Women's Day.

Classes in Alexandria, Va., were canceled after 300 teachers and staff members requested the day off. North Carolina's Chapel Hill-Carrboro City school district canceled school for the same reason.

Some schools in New York City also will be closed, according to The Huffington Post.

“A number of us had become very frustrated with the intimidation across the nation, not only with the women's march but all protesters. We felt we just didn't have a voice.”

- Toni Anne Daschiell, Right2Speak countermovement

Even if her children's schools are open, Jill Mitra, 32, of Clarkston, Mich., said she won't send her three kids to class Wednesday. She's taking the day off, and her children will, too.

"Those of us that can have to stand up for those that don't have a voice and don't have an opportunity," said Mitra, who owns her own yoga business. "I don't have anything to lose.

"I just want to help where I can help. I'm not working that day. I'm not taking my kids to school that day," she said. "We're staying home, and we'll learn more about politics."

Mitra marched Jan. 21 in Washington and believes it's more important now than ever that women's voices are heard.

"I was concerned by the tone of the election, and I'm concerned about the direction the country is going in now," said Mitra, whose husband's parents emigrated from India. "There's things I have to think about now that I didn't think I'd have to think about before.

She ticked off her list of people she's worried about: women, minorities, lesbians, gays, transgender people, immigrants.

"You want to be on the right side of history," Mitra said. "I feel like we're taking 10 steps back instead of moving forward."

Lynda Clark, 60, works for a large corporation in Louisville and is using a vacation day to support the strike. She's not sure if the strike will have a large public impact, so she said she plans to use the day for personal growth.

She'll start by getting breakfast at a female-owned bakery then begin reading We Should All Be Feminists by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for her book club. She'll write letters to lawmakers whom she thinks are supporting women's rights, then cap the day off by attending a meeting of the Louisville Metro Democratic Club.

"I think part of the reason I wanted to do this Wednesday was just to keep the momentum going," Clark said. "My fear is the march cannot be a one-time event. Any of these rallies or this strike, it's just a way to try to keep that momentum going."

The Women's Rights Information Center in Englewood, N.J., will be open Wednesday, but staffers will be wearing red, said Executive Director Lil Corcoran of the center that helps women find work. She said the center supports the strike and any action that calls for the equality and respect of women but added that many of her clients won't be able to take a day off from their job searches.

"Women are still underpaid and in some cases unpaid; we are often underappreciated or unappreciated altogether," she said. "We will participate in spirit and do what we can to advance this cause."