US women plan nationwide strike against Donald Trump

The Iceland-style protest is anticipated to show the government how the economy and society breaks down without women’s support and contribution

Protesters gather outside Trump Tower in Manhattan (Spencer Platt/Getty)

Gender equality activists are preparing for a nationwide strike where women will walk out of work and protest against the election of Donald Trump.

Thousands of women will not go into work or buy anything for 24 hours to demonstrate their value and contribution to society - showing that, without women running the economy, it breaks down.

The strike is inspired by the mass protest in Iceland in 1975, where 95 per cent of women stopped working, cooking or taking care of their families, which paralysed the country and brought about significant reform.

The US strike is planned for 12 December, a week before the electoral college convenes to officially rubber stamp Mr Trump’s election.

Events are being held next week in 20 cities all over the US, from Los Angeles and New York to Boston and Santa Barbara. According to the Facebook group’s pages, close to 5,000 women said they will attend the strike in New York City alone. Participants will start at Columbus Circle and march towards Trump Tower, the hub of Mr Trump’s transition team.

"S**t man, NYC is angry and we're so ready to yell it," wrote 21-year-old New York-based student and activist Isabella Gutierrez on Facebook.

Both men and women are invited to join. It is being organised by a group called Women and Allies, and they expect thousands of women to show up on the day. The group also started a Change.org petition to target the electoral college system, which saw the election of the candidate who received close to three million votes less than Hillary Clinton.

"Our diversity is our strength, for our many liberations are tied together," says the group’s mission statement.

"Now more than ever we embrace the sentiment that women’s rights are human rights and human rights are women’s rights. We will unite to show we will not be bullied — now more than ever before, we are stronger together."

For women who cannot leave work, the group said they would welcome women to just spend their lunch break at the protest or engage in a 24-hour spending boycott.

Mr Trump and his administration are expected to reduce women’s reproductive rights, and to not address issues like women’s representation, violence against women or the gender pay gap.

The protests on 12 December come more than one month before a large mass protest of women is being organised on 21 January in Washington DC, where more than one million women are planning to march against the president-elect.