Some of the staff in North Carolina's Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School District are expected to participate in the planned March 8 strike that the district has decided to cancel all of its classes for the day, according to The News & Observer. The paper reports that 75% of the district's employees are women. Carrboro — where the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is located — is one of the more liberal towns in the politically divided state.
The district made the decision after principals and other supervisors told school superintendent Jim Causby a lot of their staff was planning to take off work for the strike. Chapel Hill-Carrboro has designated the day as a "teacher work day" instead.
The district made it clear that it doesn't explicitly support the women's march organization that's calling for the strike.
"Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools values and supports its female employees. However, the decision to close schools is not an endorsement of the planned demonstration," according to a statement. "The decision is made solely to avoid operating school on a day when there are insufficient staff to provide instruction and basic school services."
Women's March organizers are rallying women worldwide for A Day Without A Woman, which falls on International Women's Day. The day is meant to highlight gender inequality in the world — issues from the wage gap to sexual harassment. Organizers are calling on women to take the day off work, refrain from spending money, or wear red in solidarity. They have even drafted a letter women can send to their employers to help them better understand the reasons for striking.
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