People’s Agenda profile 21: Global Women’s Strike

‘The global market – not life, not health, not well-being, not even the survival of the planet which sustains us all – determines priorities. So while the rich get richer, the arms trade fuels wars across the globe and billionaires buy up London, austerity takes away universal child benefit, lowers and cuts all benefits and wages, and drives families to homelessness and food banks.’

Forty years after the present women’s movement began women still do 2/3 of the world’s work, including growing most of the world’s food. We remain the primary carers everywhere: for children and for sick, disabled and elderly people, in the home and outside, in peace as in war. Caring is fundamental to society, but the skills it requires are undervalued and underfunded even in the job market – domestic work, homecare, childcare and even nursing are low paid.

The global market – not life, not health, not well-being, not even the survival of the planet which sustains us all – determines priorities. So while the rich get richer, the arms trade fuels wars across the globe and billionaires buy up London, austerity takes away universal child benefit, lowers and cuts all benefits and wages, and drives families to homelessness and food banks.

To redirect policies towards survival, justice and well-being, we are launching an international petition for every worker to be paid a living wage, including mothers and other carers, and for national and international budgets to prioritise financial and other support for caring work. This would also help close the income gap between women and men, and draw more men into caring.

To find out more: globalwomenstrike.net/uk

Red Pepper are running the People’s Agenda series in the run up to the General Election, demonstrating the breadth of exciting grassroots political activity in the UK.