Today is the one-year anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement — which began in New York City's Zuccotti Park on Sept. 17, 2011 — and Occupy protestors have been reconvening to celebrate the birthday with marches and gatherings in major US cities. While Occupy Wall Street began as a protest against the wealth gap in our society, it has since expanded to a global movement with its participants protesting a number of grievances against their governments. A large number of Occupy protestors are women, and as Gloria Steinem noted last year, Occupy Wall Street is also about the gender wage gap.
Many of the young Americans who have been taking part in the Occupy movement are upset about not being able to pay off their college debts, with the unemployment rate for college graduates age 20 to 24 still relatively high. And as Gloria also pointed out, getting out from under that debt is made especially difficult for women, who still earn 81 cents on every dollar a man makes. "[Women] are paid unequally — so they are going to have a harder time paying back that debt," Gloria said. "It's outrageous because they are kind of indentured when they graduate."
In honor of Occupy Wall Street's first birthday, let's look at the women who have taken part in the movement over the last year and what they believe are the most important issues.
1 Comment