Women around the world skip work for ‘Day Without a Woman’ strike

Thousands of women rallied together in the Big Apple and around the world on Wednesday as part of “A Day Without a Woman.”
The International Women’s Day protest is encouraging participants to skip out on work and only purchase products from female-owned businesses.

Dozens of women clad in red and holding signs gathered at 59th Street and 5th Avenue for a protest organized by the same group behind the Women’s March on Washington.
“We are committed to being out here for as long as it takes,” said Brooklyn civil rights activist Faiza N. Ali.
Around 75 women also rallied at Columbus Circle around noon.

“We are the majority sex in this country and it’s very shocking to me that people don’t wake up and see that we have so much power and we teach all of the people in this country because we are the mothers in this country,” said Melanie Demitri, 65, of Harlem.
Women across the country participated in the nation-wide walkout, which is meant to “highlight the economic power and significance that women have in the US and global economies, while calling attention to the economic injustices women and gender nonconforming people continue to face,” according to organizers.

The women’s strike has even forced entire schools districts in Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland to shut down because too many teachers asked for the day off.
Thousands of women from over 40 countries — including Australia, Hong Kong and Guatemala — are also taking part in the strike and International Women’s Day events.
AnnGina Vasquez Rufino, 43, of College Point, owns four gas-service stations in Queens and said she kept her businesses open but isn’t showing up to work today.
“I felt that it was more important to show my employees how much they miss me when I’m not there, which they do — and my husband, because he depends on me a lot,” she explained. “I’m not going to any stores.”
“We have the potential to make an impact if we don’t purchase and we don’t work, all of us as women. I thought it was a great idea when I heard about it,” she added.
Ami Shah, a 44-year-old internist who also runs a business helping children with developmental challenges, said she’s slowing down today as well.
“It’s a day to give myself some time,” the Upper East Sider explained. “I’m a physician/entrepreneur and a busy mom of twins, and there has to be a day where you can just harmonize with other women across the globe.”