Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

Day without a woman protest

48 replies

Foxysoxy01 · 03/03/2017 19:27

I have just read an article about A day without women protest on 8th march and am not entirely sure how I feel about it?!

I think it's great to celebrate women and everything we do day in and day out but wonder if not going into work or spending money anywhere that isn't owned by women is going to cause massive tensions and could it actually make tensions worse between SOME men and feminists.

Would it be unreasonable of me to send the template letter into my boss telling them why I won't be into work?

Would it be unreasonable of the men I work with to be unhappy that I didn't go into work and if they said they were having a male protest day they would likely be given a warning?

Am I unreasonable for even questioning it and should be thinking of women's rights history and that men are not entitled to a 'men's day' due to the fact they have never been discriminated against as women were/are?

Lastly will you be joining the Day without a woman?

OP posts:

LouisevilleLlama · 04/03/2017 02:10

Just thinking if women don't go to work and most teachers/ nursery workers etc tend to be women meaning school closures, doesn't that kid of lend itself to women staying at home looking after children, especially if they are only meant to buy stuff from companies owned by women. This seems like a shitty way to celebrate international women's day.

LouisevilleLlama · 04/03/2017 02:10

In the sense it's essentially spending a day going back in time.

MidniteScribbler · 04/03/2017 03:27

I'm going to make a guess that the women behind this probably don't work.

ArchNotImpudent · 04/03/2017 03:29

That was my immediate thought too, Midnite.

SansComic · 04/03/2017 03:30

It seems to me to be entirely counter-productive. It's showing we want our specialness acknowledged by the rest of society and attempting to do so by pissing off the majority.

I've spent my entire adult life stopping myself from being distinguished from men: the last thing I want to do is draw attention to it.

Absolute nonsense and spouted by the same kind of dumbfucks who you expect to see on any stupid protest such as this. The perma-protesting.

cheeeeselover · 04/03/2017 03:37

If I took that day off work I don't think my boss would be thinking ' yes I see how much we need women now'. He would more likely be thinking ' should have hired a bloody bloke!'

TheStoic · 04/03/2017 03:47

Women should stop doing - for the day? week? month? - all the unpaid work they do.

Then watch everything grind to a halt.

smurfit · 04/03/2017 06:33

Probably depends on the type of work. Mines a male dominated career choice so they wouldn't give a shit and the point would be lost entirely.

user1487175389 · 04/03/2017 06:45

Considering women work the equivalent of three months of the year in their (paid,) jobs for free on average (when compared to the salaries of their male counterparts) and do the vast majority of low paid, low status work, along with unpaid work, the protest definitely has a point.

Whether it'll change anything is up for debate. I mean, you could say all protests are pointless for this reason.

SansComic · 04/03/2017 06:48

user1487175389

Considering women work the equivalent of three months of the year in their (paid,) jobs for free on average (when compared to the salaries of their male counterparts)

If you find a single shred of evidence, I'll upload a video of me eating my hat. We both know you cant't.

Weebleswobbles · 04/03/2017 06:56

I hadn't heard of it at all til I read this thread. Going off to google it

The Iceland women's strike in 1975 was really effective because they knew exactly what they wanted and their strategy was simple and united all the women together.

amp.theguardian.com/world/2005/oct/18/gender.uk

LouisevilleLlama · 04/03/2017 07:01

Considering women work the equivalent of three months of the year in their (paid,) jobs for free on average (when compared to the salaries of their male counterparts)

This isn't true, that's not how the wage gap is calculated.

FormerlyFrikadela01 · 04/03/2017 07:11

As a nurse I've been told it is wrong for me to strike over my pay and conditions because it puts patients at risk. I imagine striking to prove a point would go down like a shit sandwich with the general public.

Anniegetyourgun · 04/03/2017 07:15

How's this going to be widely supported if not that many people have even heard about it?

I'm all for protesting and that, but I have to agree with the OP, this particular idea is likely to be counterproductive in more ways than one.

ForalltheSaints · 04/03/2017 07:35

I am a man. I know some men who would sadly welcome a day at work without women.

I think it is the unpaid work women do, such as in households with men who don't do much, where a day without women would be more effective.

Elendon · 04/03/2017 07:48

I agree with Stoic and ForalltheSaints

Not doing unpaid work is a far better idea. Sadly some women who do this may well face retribution, so it's not an option for them. Nor is taking a day off work an option for many women, as children would suffer as a consequence. However it's good that this is highlighted because it shows that women are needed but their work is undervalued.

r0tringLover · 04/03/2017 07:51

@Elendon - how about families where the husband works to bring home money and the wife does unpaid work. Does he get to down tools for a day and stop providing financially for his family?

TheStoic · 04/03/2017 07:56

Does he get to down tools for a day and stop providing financially for his family?

Sure. If he wants to.

Elendon · 04/03/2017 07:58

Sorry, but I don't know what your point is Rotring

I've stated that it's not a good idea, but that not doing unpaid work would be more productive (with the exception of those who are in abusive relationships).

PigletWasPoohsFriend · 04/03/2017 08:02

I'm going to make a guess that the women behind this probably don't work.

I had thought that too tbh.

r0tringLover · 04/03/2017 08:33

Sorry, but I don't know what your point is Rotring

Because people are alluding to the fact that women's unpaid work needs to be stopped for a day to prove something. The same, tired, 'poor women' tone I for one don't want to be associated with.

The fact that a SAHM is considered to have enabled a working husbands career and receives financial recompense in the case of a divorce shows that unpaid work is not unnoticed or considered worthless.

I don't see how refusing to do unpaid work would be productive in any way.

A few years ago, I was working and my husband was a SAHP, doing unpaid work. If I'd got home after a long day earning money and he said, 'oh, it's x day so I'm not doing anything unless I'm paid', I'd have taken my earnings for the day and eating like a queen at a nice restaraunt. I appreciated all he did and vice versa: we were a team and this would have royally pissed me off.

Anyone who feels that this is necessary needs to think about their personal situation. If they're unhappy with it then they need a more mature approach than some protest at home for the day.

LouisevilleLlama · 08/03/2017 14:41

So...did anyone?

SansComic · 09/03/2017 13:54

Yes, I took the day off to protest about the pay gap...

Flip

1 2