Women's Day rallies spotlight worsening gender inequality in U.S. - Xinhua

Participants carry signs and chant during the International Women's Day rally in the Grand Park on March 8, 2017. (Xinhua/Zhao Hanrong)

by Xinhua writer Yang Shilong and Guo Shuang

NEW YORK, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of New Yorkers staged strikes, rallies and marches on Wednesday to mark the International Women's Day with an aim to spotlight worsening gender inequality in U.S.

At least 2,000 people gathered around noon at the southeast corner of Central Park at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street, not far from the Trump International Hotel, in downtown New York.

The events are part of the show of solidarity with "A Day Without A Woman" strike, the latest effort by the Women's March On Washington organizers calling federal and state governments and lawmakers to respect women's rights.

A rally with women workers on International Women's Day is held at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington D.C., the United States, on March 8, 2017. This rally is calling for an end to workplace voilence and harrassment and promotion of pay equity, a fair living wage, paid leave, and labor rights for women at workd. (Xinhua/Bao Dandan)

"I am concerned about women's heath care, protections of women from discrimination, sex abuse and violence, these are the fundamental things I would like to see our society improve on," Claire Mccue told Xinhua at the rally.

Mccue said today's event is a continuation of the January march she attended in Washington.

"Showing up is really an important. We are sending the message that we are still fighting, and resisting. There is a lot of work that needs to be done, not only for me, but for the generation of my daughter." Mccue said.

A young woman, carrying a banner "the rise of women = the rise of nation", said she came to remind people of the huge pay gap between men and women in the United States.

"I used to make only about 70 cents to the dollar my male colleagues make." said the accountant, who asked not to be named. "I aggressively asked for a raise and I got it. "

The U.S. placed 45th in 144 countries, down from 28th in 2015, according to the World Economic Forum's annual Global Gender Gap Report released in October 2016.

"Our reproductive rights are being threatened," said Adima Klein. "Say, we do not have paid maternity leave."

A New York woman has to file for short-term "disability" leave when she is pregnant under certain state laws and private sector employer's insurance policies, Klein said, "being a mom is being disability, it's very upsetting. I just worry it is getting more alarming day by day with a right wing government in place."

A typical post-birth disability period that is prescribed is 6 weeks for a normal delivery and 8 weeks for a C-section birth, according to Fairygodboss.com, a website which allows women to anonymously post information about their workplace. The maximum benefit anyone can receive under NY state disability benefits is 26 weeks in any 52 week period.

The U.S. and Papua New Guinea are the only two countries in the world that do not ensure any paid time off for new moms, said a report from the International Labor Organization.

Under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, women working at companies with at least 50 employees must be allowed to take 12 weeks off work following the birth of their child, but that time does not have to be paid.

The U.S. refuses to support any health programs that incorporate abortion care, Refinery29, an American fashion and beauty website reported, as many countries have liberalized their abortion laws over the past 20 years.

Politicians in statehouses across the country continued to attack women's access to vital health care services in 2015, introducing nearly 400 bills and enacting 47 new laws restricting access to reproductive health care, said the Center for Reproductive Rights, an organization that advocates for access to abortion in its report "2015 State of the States: Fighting Back by Pushing Forward."

"There is a segment in the society that thinks women do not equal man, it is fundamentally wrong," said Greg, in his 50s, "Without women, there is no life, you have to have both parts of society, you have to have every sector of society to work in peace and harmony."

He believed that like women's march in 1960s and 1970s which created foundations for the equality movement, the rallies and marches will "help make a change" in gender equality in the United States.

"We have to build on that foundation to move forward, we cannot put it back to the closet. Every body deserves equality." Greg said."I have been fighting for it for 30 years, we have to stand up for the equality for all."

Interestingly, an asset management company Wednesday installed a statue of a girl staring down the famous Charging Bull statue on Wall Street.

The statue will be squaring off against the bull, a tourist favorite for photo opportunities, for at least a week, the company said in a statement.

Also on Tuesday night, the Statue Of Liberty's lights suddenly went out, which some believed was tied to the Day Without A Woman.

"Thank you Lady Liberty for standing with the resistance and going dark for #DayWithoutAWoman,"wrote Women's March on its twitter account @womensmarch.

Meanwhile in Los Angeles, at least a thousand women and men joined a massive rally in downtown Los Angeles Wednesday afternoon.

A sea of women dressed in red gathered at Grand Park in front of Los Angeles City Hall. The demonstrators holding signs showing support for various issues, including equal pay and opposition to U.S. President Donald Trump, including "WE NEED A LEADER NOT A TWEETER", "I STAND FOR WOMEN WHO CAN'T BE HERE BECAUSE THEY ARE HOME DOING HARD WORK FOR NO PAY" and "STAY LOUD!", chanted "United."

"We are wearing red for solidarity to show that we are all together and red is a powerful colour. It's a colour of blood, anger and passion..." Deborah Poppink, a volunteer for resistinla.org, told Xinhua.

"We are here because we are women, mothers and we are also citizens concerned about Trump's agenda for our planet, our country, our environment, women's right, education...everything is under attack right now," Poppink said.

"We want equality," Poppink said, "it looks like women can do the same things but there is always a limit. That is called glass ceiling. Women are working hard every day with the houses and children plus they have jobs," Poppink said.

Wednesday's strike blended in with the annual International Women's Day, a worldwide event held since the 1900s to celebrate the achievements of women. Similar strikes were held in cities across the nation, organized by the group behind January's Women's March.