Following the massive turnout of the Women’s March, its organizers called for women to go on strike on International Women’s Day on Wednesday. The strike’s organizers, tapped into a worldwide movement, outlined three ways to join the protest: taking the day off “from paid and unpaid labor,” refraining from shopping (“with exceptions for small, women- and minority-owned businesses”) and wearing red to show solidarity with the movement.
Women’s media outlets, which covered the march extensively and have been actively writing about women’s rights, are divided in their plans for how to approach the strike, known as “A Day Without a Woman.” While some are planning to publish content about it, others have decided to participate by going on strike themselves.
The Cut, New York magazine’s women’s site, will not publish any new content for the day. A note to readers explaining the decision will go up on Tuesday night and stay in the main spot on the homepage all day Wednesday. Stories from The Cut’s archives on relevant topics such as feminism, reproductive rights and the women’s march will be highlighted.
Related Galleries
“The Cut is going to strike as a sign of solidarity with women everywhere as we face the potential rollback of fundamental rights,” editorial director Stella Bugbee said.
Bustle and its sister site Romper are taking the day off from publishing and are encouraging staff to volunteer. The sites, which normally publish 250 stories a day, will not post any content or update social channels for 24 hours. Wednesday will be considered “a paid volunteer day” and the company arranged volunteer options at charities and nonprofits that help women and marginalized groups.
“When A Day Without a Woman came up, it was a very intriguing opportunity for us because we are largely female,” Bustle editor in chief Kate Ward said. “We also wanted to use the day to support women who aren’t able to take that day off. The volunteering option came into play to use the day as a way to help women and those who are marginalized.”
Jezebel won’t be dark on Wednesday, but the Gizmodo Media Group women’s site also won’t run any stories written by its female writers. Male staffers Bobby Finger and Rich Juzwiak will run the site, along with men from other sites in the Gizmodo Media Group (which is owned by the woke Fusion Media) network “who want to help the women of the site and stand in solidarity with the strike,” Jezebel’s editor in chief Emma Carmichael explained. On Thursday, Jezebel’s female writers will return and file stories about the strike.
Vogue and Teen Vogue are planning to cover the strike on their websites. Teen Vogue, which has gotten a lot of attention in the past months for its political posts, is planning to run a collection of quotes from college students about why they are participating. The site is also planning to run “a piece on why the premise of the day is potentially problematic given that some people don’t have the luxury of participating,” according to a spokeswoman.
As part of its ongoing coverage, a Cosmopolitan spokeswoman pointed to a recent story about conservative women who also disagree with the day’s premise and chose not to participate. Marie Claire is going to launch a campaign tied to International Women’s Day on social media and through essays on its site called #WhatIWishISaid, a prompt for “women to speak out about the moments of sexism — large and small, commonplace or glaring — they wish they could go back and rewrite.”
Glamour “will focus on robust coverage and an ambitious activation,” a statement from the magazine said, “just as we did for the Women’s Marches in January.”