pc@hplabsb.UUCP (09/27/85)
Internationally, it has been determined that women do 2/3 of the
work which directly contributes to the prosperity of people and nations.
(See recent report from U.N. Decade for Women Committee.) In much of the
world, this work is not paid work: subsistance farming, childcare, food
preparation, water gathering, and so on. In the developed world, the
figures aren't much different, but the activities are centered around
childcare, food preparation, homemaking (cleaning, sewing, household
management), and volunteer work. While many of us have chosen to pursue
paid jobs, we can all probably empathize with the unvalued and undervalued
contributions that women make to the prosperity of our countries.
In a demonstration designed to show solidarity with our sisters,
there is planned an international day of "Time Off" for women. Unlike a
strike, this demonstration is designed to give each woman an opportunity
to make a personal statement, whether that means taking 15 minutes away
from her unpaid work or the entire day. There will be press releases and
some media coverage.
The date chosen is U.N. Day-- October 24, marking the end of the
U.N. Decade for Women. Perhaps you can find a way to show your solidarity,
to let those around you get a better feeling for the value of women's
contributions to our quality of life and prosperity. The movement is
looking for constructive ways to demonstrate the point that women's
contribution to the GNP is "immeasurable."
Peace,
Patricia Collins
{ucbvax|duke|hao|allegra}!hplabs!pc
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{ucbvax|duke|hao|allegra}!hplabs!pcjeff@rtech.UUCP (Jeff Lichtman) (10/01/85)
> > In a demonstration designed to show solidarity with our sisters, > there is planned an international day of "Time Off" for women. Unlike a > strike, this demonstration is designed to give each woman an opportunity > to make a personal statement, whether that means taking 15 minutes away > from her unpaid work or the entire day. There will be press releases and > some media coverage. > Patricia Collins I have mixed feelings about this. While I agree with the ideas that the demonstration is trying to promote (that women contribute a lot to the economy and society in general for which they are unpaid and otherwise unrecognized), only the relatively rich women of the world will be able to participate in this demonstration. How is a peasant woman slaving in the fields supposed to feel about a woman in the United States taking time off from her comparatively easy work in order to show solidarity? -- Jeff Lichtman at rtech (Relational Technology, Inc.) "Saints should always be judged guilty until they are proved innocent..." {amdahl, sun}!rtech!jeff {ucbvax, decvax}!mtxinu!rtech!jeff