International Women’s Day is on Wednesday, March 8, and this year it has been declared A Day Without a Woman. This strike has been endorsed by 31 grassroots organizations, which formed while preparing for the Women’s March on Washington, Sister Marches across the USA and in 50 countries around the world.

Women and our allies will act together for equity, justice and the human rights of women, through a one-day demonstration of economic solidarity. In the same spirit of love and liberation that inspired the women’s marches, together we will mark the day by recognizing the enormous value that women of all backgrounds add to our socio-economic system, while receiving lower wages, experiencing greater inequities, vulnerability to discrimination, sexual harassment and job insecurity.

Anyone, anywhere, can join by making March 8 A Day Without a Woman in one or all of the following ways:

Women take the day off, from paid and unpaid labor.

Avoid shopping (with exceptions for small, women and minority-owned businesses).

Wear red in solidarity with A Day Without a Woman.

A Day Without a Woman is the fourth of “Ten Actions in One Hundred Days” supported by the Women’s March on Washington, the grassroots event which awoke the sleeping giant around the world: women!

Women comprise 51 percent of the population, but continue to be under-represented in the political spectrum, misrepresented by the media and undervalued by the male-dominated power structure worldwide.

Far too long, men have made decisions which impact women, and now get ready for the political onslaught against women’s health care, birth control and freedom for women to control their own bodies. Regardless of personal beliefs, no one, especially the government, has the right to dictate a woman’s personal decisions.

Women unite! Go on strike for one day. Join me by taking the day off on Wednesday, March 8.

Vicki Raucci Gonzales is a 36-year resident of South Lake Tahoe, a 31-year member of Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe and the catalyst for the Lake Tahoe South Shore Women’s March. For more information on Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe, visit http://www.sislt.org/. Visit http://www.womenstrikeus.org/ for more information about the International Women’s Strike U.S. platform.