How Women’s Publications Are Handling “A Day Without a Woman” Strike

Glamour Magazine

"We'll be abstaining from our regularly-scheduled programming and devoting our site and social coverage wholly to International Women's Day actions, specifically, A Day Without a Woman, an initiative that seeks to raise awareness around issues of equality and women's rights through a one-day demonstration of solidarity," reads a letter from Laurel Pinson, digital editorial director, on Glamour's website. "Expect coverage around today's IWD and ADWAW-related events, as well as conversation-sparking stories around the topics that affect women most." 

The Conde Nast-owned title has turned its social media feeds into funnels for feminist quotes from women like Coco Chanel, Sheryl Sandberg and Beyonce. The tweets include no links back to their site. 

#DayWithoutAWoman pic.twitter.com/utxLUm4FLU

— Glamour (@glamourmag) March 8, 2017

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

The site has also changed the color of all of its branding, including the banner and its typically hot pink "G" logo, to the bright red which represents International Women's Day.

Jezebel

At Jezebel, the women are taking the day to strike, however a letter from editor in chief Emma Carmichael assures that the site will still be "fully operational." 

"Jezebel will be run entirely by the men we work with here at Gizmodo Media Group, while our women writers and editors will be joining the strike and participating in protests," wrote Carmichael. "Our intent here is not to give men a platform or to allow them to fuck with our website (though you can likely expect at least some JezSpin-style blogs tomorrow), but to force them to think about the jobs they’re being asked to do and how they differ from their usual day-to-day work… We’re asking them to take that responsibility on without much of our guidance and advice, and if they stumble in that pursuit, we hope you notice."

Whereas other sites' coverage has been tightly focused on coverage of the strike, it appears that the men at Jezebel are working to maintain the site's regular content, from Naomi Campbell's maybe-faux feud with Rihanna to a look inside Manhattan's new Golden GIrls-themed Cafe. Accordingly, its social channels have also remained unchanged. 

Teen Vogue

Smart, thorough coverage of women's issues throughout the 2016 election cycle earned Teen Vogue a reputation for savvy political coverage, and on International Women's Day, that coverage is no different. 

Like Glamour and The Cut, Teen Vogue is not publishing new content on its site. "The women of TeenVogue.com are staying home today," reads a letter from editors on the glossy's homepage. "This is because the staff is composed almost entirely of women, and we have decided to participate in A Day Without a Woman to emphasize the impact women have on the economy, the workforce, and all of society, through paid and unpaid, seen and unseen labor." 

Teen Vogue addressed its struggles to be taken seriously in the political sphere, and hoped that its participation in the strike would shed light on those same stereotypes and preconceptions that inhibit it. "Although as an editorial staff we are privileged to have this platform and audience (as well as the opportunity to take a day off of work), journalism is still an industry that disproportionately awards leadership and power to men, and as a result, we still struggle to be taken seriously when we talk about politics."

On its Twitter handle, Teen Vogue posted a series of ten tweets promoting articles about the strike (including a feminist playlist) and a single Instagram post redirecting followers to read its letter on its site. (Typically, the title tweets a couple times an hour, and posts as many as 7 Instagrams per day.)

 

A post shared by Teen Vogue (@teenvogue) on Mar 8, 2017 at 6:12am PST

//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js

Who What Wear

CMG, the media brand which owns Who What Wear as well as beauty site Byrdie, home goods site MyDomaine, the gen-Z focused, social media-only Obsessee platform, and the recently acquired CollegeFashionista, addressed International Women's Day on social media, and even created a social campaign (#WeAreWomen), however there is no mention of the strike on its pages. 

"[We] will be standing together on International Women's Day to spotlight inspirational women in our local and international communities," reads a caption on Who What Wear's Instagram. "To join us, nominate the woman who empowers YOU by using the hashtag #WeAreWomen and tagging her across Instagram. If you've been nominated yourself, pay it forward by tagging someone else, and stand together in celebrating strong women everywhere."

Outside of the campaign, editorial content and social content has remained business as usual.

 

A post shared by Who What Wear (@whowhatwear) on Mar 8, 2017 at 3:45am PST

//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js

Elle

Like Glamour, Elle is recirculating its women's interest articles — including one addressing the strike, originally published two weeks ago and currently pinned to the top of the site, entitled: "Go Ahead and Strike, But Know that Many of Your Sisters Can't." However, there is no editor's letter directly addressing their coverage for the day.

However, Elle.com has continued to post regular editorial content, though much of it is coverage of International Women's Day — from President Donald Trump's comment on the day, and Emma Watson's feminist book project, Our Shared Shelf's plan to hide feminist books across the globe. 

Over on its social channels, the Hearst-owned glossy has posted an image of its Elle.com editors wearing Tory Burch's #EmbraceAmbition tees, as well as short spotlights on trailblazing female figures from the past (thus far, they have all been minorities as well) including Edmonia Lewis, an African American and Native American sculptor, and Chien-Shiung Wu, a physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project. 

Elle also promoted the "#ItStartsInside" campaign in partnership with Activia, featuring modern-day trailblazing women. 

 

Team ELLE.com supports the mission to #EmbraceAmbition with @toryburchfoundation || photo by @katwirsing

A post shared by Elle Magazine (@elleusa) on Mar 7, 2017 at 3:07pm PST

//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js

New York Mag's The Cut

The Cut, New York Magazine's style outlet which has significantly upped its coverage of feminist issues in the past year, is not publishing any new content for the day. 

A striking red banner on the site's homepage greets visitors with a bold message: "In honor of International Women's Day, the Cut won't publish today." What follows is a message written by the site's editors, in which they detail the difficult conversation they had regarding how they would treat the 

 

From our editors: You may have noticed that the Cut is not publishing anything today. That’s because, in honor of International Women’s Day, we’re on strike. Yes, STRIKE. No news. No fashion. The Cut staff had many conversations before deciding to strike: Was this the right moment? Would it distract from other injustices currently being pushed by the administration (travel ban, take two)? Would it be inclusive? Would it be effective? What about all the women who can’t strike because their jobs and incomes and child-care situations are too tenuous? The Cut can’t possibly speak to or for every single American woman, but we decided to strike today to show solidarity with the women around the world who are standing up for equal pay and equal opportunity, reproductive freedom, an end to sexual assaults, an end to bigotry of all kinds, and policies that support our families like parental leave, health care, and child care. You can read more at the link in our bio. #internationalwomensday

A post shared by The Cut (@thecut) on Mar 8, 2017 at 5:05am PST

//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js

Marie Claire

Marie Claire is one of the sites which is continuing to produce its regular content throughout the #DayWithoutAWoman strike, including an essay written by Alyssa Milano on women taking action in the age of President Trump.

However, like Who What Wear, Marie Claire has also launched a social media campaign in honor of International Women's Day. The "#WhatIWishISaid" campaign is aimed at exposing sexual harassment by encouraging women to tell their stories about how they wish they had confronted their harasser. 

On Twitter, the site has been retweeting women who have posted using the hashtag. 

#WhatIWishISaid #InternationalWomensDay #daywithoutawoman pic.twitter.com/74DqO6eUxx

— Marie Claire (@marieclaire) March 8, 2017

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js