Hollywood is set for A Day Without a Woman.
On International Women’s Day Wednesday, women nationwide are planning to showcase their socio-economic impact by taking the day off from work, wearing red and refraining from making purchases. A Day Without a Woman grew out of the Jan. 21 Women’s March, which took place in cities around the world the day after President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Several companies have told The Hollywood Reporter that they support any employees who choose to participate, while other firms are taking things a step further.
UTA announced Tuesday that the agency will hold off-site events for its female employees across its Los Angeles, New York and Toronto offices. Community leaders and talent, including Tumblr exec Katherine Barna, filmmaker Haifaa Al Mansour and Planned Parenthood NY chair Katie Danziger will address staff in L.A. and New York, while in Toronto, employees are organizing a clothing and fundraising drive for Toronto Dress for Success and local shelter Women’s Habitat.
“We consider it vital for UTA to be a part of the global dialogue about gender equity and underscore its importance,” UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer said in a statement. “Women play a critical role in the workforce and are essential members of the UTA family, and we fully support this event and encourage women across the agency to mark the day.”
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MTV will also offer its support for their female employees by changing the “M” in its logo to a “W,” with the new graphic appearing on-air and across online platforms. MTV’s social media accounts will be automated for the day, because the majority of staffers who run them are women. MTV News will also have an editorial rollout to commemorate the day with podcasts and articles.
Meanwhile, Ryan Murphy announced on Twitter that all the women in his production company will be participating. “So in short, nothing will get done,” he tweeted, adding that the company will be joining the planned marches and events to mark the day.
In honor & support of tomorrow’s A DAY WITHOUT A WOMAN, ALL the women in my company will not be working. So in short, nothing will get done.
— Ryan Murphy (@MrRPMurphy) March 7, 2017
There are marches and events happening all over the country. We will be there. You should too. Show love and support!
— Ryan Murphy (@MrRPMurphy) March 7, 2017
New Form, the digital studio co-founded by Discovery, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, will close its office entirely in observance of the day. “Seeing as our company is 61 percent female, we greatly value the importance of women in the workplace and want to show our solidarity given New Form’s passion for women’s equality and rights,” CEO Kathleen Grace wrote in a memo to staff.
CAA is providing transportation from its Century City headquarters for employees who wish to attend the Day Without a Woman rally in downtown Los Angeles. Meanwhile, many of Paradigm’s female employees across its offices, including London partner CODA, will take the day off and instead gather for various forms of social outreach.
STX Entertainment will make a donation to Girls Inc. of Greater Los Angeles, which provides free programs to encourage girls to pursue higher education and STEM careers.
Film Independent announced via Twitter that it will observe the protest, and all of its social channels will be quiet for the day.
Over at Jezebel, the female-focused site will be manned (pun intended) by staffers Bobby Finger and Rich Juzwiak as well as men from Gizmodo Media Group’s other sites, as its female writers will be participate in Wednesday’s Day Without a Woman strike. Fellow Univision-owned company Fusion TV will dedicate its airtime to a slate of female-focused programming.
President Donald Trump, for his part, took to Twitter Wednesday morning to say: “I have tremendous respect for women and the many roles they serve that are vital to the fabric of our society and our economy. On International Women’s Day, join me in honoring the critical role of women here in America & around the world.”
Trump has been widely criticized as being sexist and the response to his claim that he has “tremendous respect for women” was swift, with many people on social media pointing out the disparaging and insulting remarks he has made about women in the past.
THR will be updating this story with multiple network/studio responses as they arrive.
