Women's Strikes: From Typewriters to #MeToo

Women's strikes in France have challenged both employer exploitation and patriarchal union structures. The 1974 strike at the Lip watch factory in Besançon became legendary not just for worker self-management—they continued producing and selling watches—but for women's leadership. Female workers, traditionally relegated to secondary roles, emerged as key strategists and spokespeople.

The 2019 feminist strike on March 8, International Women's Day, demonstrated evolving strike repertoires. Participants didn't just withdraw labor but organized demonstrations highlighting unpaid domestic work, wage gaps, and sexual harassment. The strike's timing—3:40 PM, representing the time after which women effectively work for free given pay disparities—showed sophisticated understanding of symbolic politics.