20/10/2015
On Oct. 24, 1975, 90% of Icelandic women went on strike, refusing to do any work at their homes or their jobs. It was the largest demonstration in the nation's history and shut down the entire country. Airports were closed, schools were closed, and hospitals couldn't function. The strike had an immediate and lasting impact. The following year, Iceland's Parliament (now half women) passed a law guaranteeing women equal pay and paid maternity leave. Four years later, Iceland elected the world's first female President. And today, Iceland has the highest gender equality in the world.
This year is the 40th anniversary of the strike I invite all women to celebrate this strike and use the day to raise awareness of the issues facing women around the world today. It's about equality and human rights.
Although I would like to commemorate the day, I think we should do it our celebration the day before as it falls on a Friday and will have more impact to show the importance of women working out of the home as well as those who work from home.
SO
October 23th, 2015, take the day off. We all will. If the female half of the workforce doesn't show up to work and women are not doing the unpaid work in the home (cleaning up, cooking, washing laundry, minding children) , it will be a movement that gets noticed. Imagine that!! Let's see what kind of change we can make.
Please invite all your women friends to take the day off. That means no work in the home, no child minding, no work outside of the home. This hopefully will show the government how important women are and also show women how important we are. Let's do it!
And if for some reason you can't take the day off, please wear RED STOCKINGS in tribute to those amazing Icelandic women that started this movement. Or even if you do take the day off! RED STOCKINGS ALL THE WAY!
All the women invited should watch this and share it around! It is a fantastic doco about the original event and it can help us with our planning too! Amazing! Thanks so much to Halla Kristín Einarsdóttir for sharing with me and with all of us, as well as creating it!
https://vimeo.com/141731463
A documentary about the Red Stocking movement in Iceland 1970 - 1980, including the famous Women´s Day Off in 1975. Subtitles in English. Directed by Halla…