Wednesday is International Women’s Day and this year many women in the U.S. are staying home from work as part of a loosely coordinated “Day Without a Woman” that organizers say will highlight the economic clout of women.
In Juneau, Sarah Lewis took the day off from her job at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension. She said she’s dedicating the day to writing letters to lawmakers.
“I am seeing today as a day to get active with other women. For me it’s not so much taking the day off from work because that really isn’t the statement for me,” she said. “It’s the being able to have a day when I can connect with a lot of other women in my community and do some things that feel like they could move toward some progress.”
According to the U.S. census, American women make up 47 percent of the workforce. But they still earn 80 cents for every dollar a man makes. They also have a lower median income.
