Women across Spain are taking part in an unprecedented strike aimed at demanding effective equality between men and women. The leading unions said that 5.3 million people had followed the two-hour workplace walkouts throughout the morning.While 170 countries are planning public protests on March 8, International Women’s Day, Spain is the only one to be staging a general strike backed by the unions.

International Women’s Day 2018 comes in the midst of a tumultuous time. The current White House administration under Donald Trump continues to attack the rights of workers, women, people of color, immigrants, and other marginalized communities. The first woman appointed to the U.S. cabinet, and the longest person to hold the position of U.S. Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins, is just such a woman. People's World

In the era of #MeToo and Time’s Up, International Women’s Day there was a keen awareness of a major shift in the firmament when it came to gender parity, the treatment of women in the workplace and sexual dynamics.But for most scratching out lives in developing countries in Africa, toiling away at jobs with little pay in Latin America or scrambling to raise children without help in the Middle East — most likely had little time left over to reflect on the day designated to celebrate “the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women,” New York Times