Who would be missing in Day Without A Woman?

By Kate Hayden, khayden@charlescitypress.com

What would a day without women look like in Floyd County? A similar question was asked across the U.S. on Wednesday as some women took a day off of work, joined rallies or wore red to demonstrate the essential role women play in the workforce.

The movement “A Day Without A Woman” was promoted as a “one-day demonstration of economic solidarity,” Women’s March on Washington organizers said on the website www.womensmarch.com. The strike recognized International Women’s Day on March 8 and encouraged women and allies to use the social media hashtag #DayWithoutAWoman. Women’s March organizers also provided sample letters to inform employers of an employee’s participation, and a template “Out of Office” auto-response email for the day. No immediate estimates were available of how many women participated in the protest, the Associated Press reported.

International Women’s Day was adopted by the United Nations in 1975, but had been recognized in the U.S. as National Woman’s Day since 1909 and in various European countries since 1910.

How many women would be missing in north Iowa if they had all taken a day off of work? The Press looked at the numbers of elected officials, emergency workers and other positions in Floyd and Chickasaw counties:

BUSINESS

Charles City Chamber of Commerce: Five out of six staff members

Charles City Press: 10 out of 21 total (full and part time) employees are women, working in various departments such as editorial, composition, advertising and printing

SAFETY

Charles City Police Department: 3 out of 6 dispatchers; no women out of 11 police officers

Floyd County Sheriff’s Office/Jail: six jailers, no deputies

CITY COUNCILS

7 female council members, 7 city clerks, 1 mayor (out of 8 cities)

Charles City Council: City Clerk; no council members

City of Colwell: 2 out of 5 City Council members and the interim City Clerk

City of Floyd: 1 City Council member out of 5; the City Clerk

City of Marble Rock: City Clerk; no council members

City of Nora Springs: 1 out of 5 City Council members; the City Administrator (no clerk named online)

City of Rockford: City Clerk; no council members

City of Rudd: 2 out of 5 City Council members; the City Clerk

City of Nashua: Mayor Angie Dietz; 1 out of 5 City Council members; the City Clerk

BOARDS OF EDUCATION

11 elected board members, 3 board secretaries (out of four boards)

Charles City Board of Education: 2 out of 5 elected board members; board secretary

Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock Board of Education: 2 out of 5 board members (no secretary named online)

Nashua-Plainfield Board of Education: 3 out of 5 board members; board secretary/treasurer

North Butler Board of Education: 4 out of 5 board members; board secretary

BOARDS OF SUPERVISORS

1 supervisor (out of 2 county boards)

Floyd County Board of Supervisors: 1 out of 3 elected officials

Chickasaw County Board of Supervisors: No women on the board