This thread is killing me, I can’t even tell what you are responding to. I do agree that the strike should include a strike from housework/childcare and that men should step up during that but I legit have no idea what I could have said that was contrary to that!

Historically, women’s strikes have included striking from “women’s work.” I have not really heard of any other women’s strikes that DON’T include also striking from housework/childcare/etc. Have you?

Thank you! It’s baffling, isn’t it? It shows how much the unpaid labor of woman/motherhood is unvalued, even in supposedly feminist circles. I got called “the same as a man who sees caring for his own child as babysitting” because I called childcare work. That’s insane!

Woah. I’m really surprised by these comments. Is the concept of a society being built on the backs of women and unvalued labor such a hot take? Are we really arguing that the work of maintaining a household and raising children isn’t actually work?

I work in IT, in a fairly non-traditional (for a female) role. And I work onsite in my clients’ offices, out of state - which means that if I strike, I’m causing a big fucking problem because I’m out of the office, AND I’m essentially charging my client to do so, because they are paying my meal and lodging expenses. I…

Exactly. I am willing to make sacrifices and I get that protesting should be a disruption, but tanking my professional reputation at my relatively new job isn’t a sacrifice I am willing to make. Will it make an impact on my company if I don’t work for the day? Not really, I’m not out here saving lives. But it will…

I think we should attempt as close to 100% participation as possible, like in other countries. I think that the strike should apply to unpaid housework/childcare as well as paid work. I don’t think it’s enough that it’s just about women’s contributions in the workforce. I don’t think that’s enough at all.

You entirely missed the point

I’d lose my job, but thanks. It isn’t about the impact on me specifically, it’s that if suddenly all women stop doing their paid jobs, they’ll still have to do all the UNPAID shit women have to do that goes unappreciated. It has to be all or nothing.

This is exactly my point. If we just go “Oh, all those striking working moms can just care for their own children for once,” how is that fucking helpful? ALL the work women do is undervalued, not just the paid work. It is sort of shocking to me how many people on here don’t get that.

Perhaps the answer to the many men’s “how can I support this strike” queries is: pretend the women in your life evaporated. Care for your children in their absence. Care for their children. The real impact of “a day without women” can only really be felt if women aren’t in the workplace, and men have to take the day…

I think you misunderstood. All teachers staying home means that the working mothers of some of the students would have to stay home because they wouldn’t be able to find day care. Many of those women can’t afford to lose a day’s pay, don’t have leave, and might lose their jobs for not showing up. This won’t have…

It isn’t about inconvenience, it’s about what works. In Iceland and in Poland, the strikes worked because the women didn’t just not go to their jobs, they also refused to do housework/childcare/etc. There’s more to work for women than paid work.

No, it isn’t about doing nothing. It’s about doing no WORK. For this kind of thing to work, women have to not work at all including work at home, so they can go protest. That’s what the Icelandic strike worked. That’s why the strikes in Poland worked. Because it isn’t just about women in the workforce being…

My point is that if we are going to have a strike, it needs to be a strike across the board. Every women does no work, including childcare and cooking, like they did in Iceland. Then the full effect of a woman’s work would be felt.

Because the people who care for my kid are also women. Most of the people who care for/teach kids are women. If we’re aiming for every woman participating, there is going to be a big problem for single women who don’t have anyone else to care for their children.

And the single moms who will lose their jobs if they don’t go to work, when they have to call out because schools are closed, what then? This is going to fuck the working poor.

I guess it’s supposed to be symbolic, but we need to move beyond symbolic action, imho.

I understand that because yes, it’s mostly women that work at my daughter’s school. I definitely support the cause; however, if school has to close for the day because they don’t have enough staff, my husband is not going to stay home from work for the day while I do nothing. Then what do I do? My daughter is 5 so…

Follow-up question (honest question): what if my particular company already has an excellent track record in regards to women’s rights and women’s roles in the workplace? I would like to join in, but I feel like I would be unfairly punishing my particular company by withholding my work for the day, when they’ve…