08 March 2018•Update: 08 March 2018
By Alyssa McMurtry
OVIEDO, Spain
Women in Spain went on strike on Thursday both from professional and domestic work in the country’s first-ever general feminist strike.
To coincide with International Women’s Day, ten Spanish unions on Jan. 14 called for 24-hour strikes and the country's two most important unions have asked members to stop working for two hours on Thursday.
Starting at midnight Wednesday, groups of women congregated in Spanish cities, banging pots and pans in protest of sexist behaviors ingrained in society.
The strike has already affected train and metro services.
Until Thursday morning, public transport in Madrid and Barcelona, along with the country’s national train network, will be running minimum services. More protests have been planned for the day, and organizers have called for women to strike at home as well.
Women are protesting wage inequality and "macho" attitudes and behaviors in the country. Spanish women spend nearly twice as many hours per week (26.5) on unpaid work as men, according to national statistics, and earn 12.7 percent less per hour than male counterparts who work in the same or similar position, according to the Foundation for the Study of Applied Economics (FEDEA).
"When you are a woman and get a position of responsibility, you realize that many things still need to change because even if you’re a deputy prime minister, we still have to live with unacceptable chauvinist behavior," Spain’s conservative Deputy PM Soraya Saenz de Santamaria told Spanish media on Wednesday. She said she "respected" the strike.
There has been a heated debate surrounding the strike with critics calling it "elitist" and alleging it is creating unnecessary friction, but according to a recent national poll, 82 percent of Spaniards are supporting it.
