On ‘Day Without Women,’ Two Districts Cancel School

School districts in Virginia and North Carolina are telling students to stay home on Wednesday, on a nationwide day of protest called “A Day Without Women,” because so many staff members do not plan to show up for work.

In Alexandria Public Schools in Northern Virginia, more than 300 staff members have asked for the day off, prompting district officials to take the extraordinary step of canceling class. The superintendent said its 18 schools would not have enough teachers on Wednesday.

“This is not a decision that was made lightly,” the superintendent, Alvin L. Crawley, said, adding that “it is not based on a political stance or position.”

In the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools in North Carolina, a “significant” number of teachers have said they will skip work on Wednesday, the district said. The roughly 12,300 students are to stay home, and the day will be an optional teacher workday. “It is my determination that we will not have enough staff to safely run our school district,” the interim superintendent, Jim Causby, said in a letter on the district’s website.

 Both school districts cited the observance of International Women’s Day as the reason for the staffing shortages. Nationwide, more than three-quarters of all teachers are women, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics.

The leaders of the Women’s March on Washington, which drew more than a million demonstrators the day after the inauguration of President Trump, have encouraged women to strike on Wednesday to highlight their economic importance and power. The movement, which grew out of concerns about Mr. Trump and has spawned protests around the world, has emerged as a vocal champion of women’s rights.

The protest on Wednesday comes a few weeks after another protest, “Day Without Immigrants,” had a similar effect on businesses. Immigrant workers displayed their contribution to the labor force by staying home, forcing businesses to close. Students in some schools districts also stayed home and others walked out during class.