Selma James is an antisexist, antiracist campaigner. In 1972 she put forward Wages for Housework (WFH) as a demand and a political perspective that redefined the working class. The International WFH Campaign she founded coordinates the Global Women’s Strike. She coined the word “unwaged,” which incorporates all workers without wages. She co-authored the classic The Power of Women and the Subversion of the Community and is the author of Sex, Race and Class and other pathbreaking writing.
The Global Women’s Strike and Women of Colour GWS, which have campaigned for financial recognition for unwaged caring work for decades, contributed to the Green New Deal for Europe and jointly called on governments everywhere to provide a Care Income, starting now. This would prioritize and support the work of all those, of every gender, who care for people, for the urban and rural environment, and for the natural world.
Wages for Housework begins with those of us with least power internationally – unwaged workers in the home (mothers, housewives, domestic workers denied pay), and unwaged workers on the land and in the community.
Wages for Housework is a demand, it is also a perspective, a way of organising from the bottom up, of autonomous sectors working together to end the power relations among us.
We are part of a global collective of a number of autonomous organisations within the Global Women’s Strike. Each has its own constituency and campaigns, each can count on the collective power of all.
Starting in March and for the whole of 2022, the International Wages for Housework Campaign,
which co-ordinates the Global Women’s Strike, will celebrate its golden anniversary. We are holding a series of events and launching our 1972-2022 archives at the Bishopsgate Institute.
On 8 March 2022, the Global Women's Strike launched an International Survey - What Do Mothers and other Carers Want? Join the discussion here:
Event: meet Selma James – the celebrated author & campaigner
Dear friends, You are welcome to come and meet the celebrated author and campaigner Selma James on Thursday, 15 December, 5pm at our local Kentish Town Library, NW5 2AA. Selma will speak about her latest anthology Our Time is Now – Sex, Race, Class, and Caring for People and Planet, followed by discussion.Please RSVP.
Read MoreNadja News: Ten times women’s unpaid care work was recognised in history.
Cooking, cleaning, gathering food and water, and caring for children and the elderly are vital for families and societies. Yet this work, performed by women 75% of the time, has seldom been given the recognition it deserves, creating huge inequality around the world. Here are ten times unpaid care work has been recognised for what it…
Read MorePress statement: Women Human Rights Defenders collective in Thailand amplify demands to goverment.
On the occasion of International Women Human Rights Defenders Day we, Community WHRDs Collective in Thailand gather to restate and amplify our demands first submitted to three Parliamentary Committees to mark International WHRD Day, 21 November 2019. We re-affirm that the 2017 Constitution is not fit for purpose and must be replaced. It must be…
Read MoreCall to action: #CTC Social Media Storm: Calling on Congress to Reinstate the Child Tax Credit Now! December 7th.
It’s URGENT that Congress members extend the expanded refundable Child Tax Credit before 2022 comes to a close. US Census data shows that child poverty was cut 46% to a record low of 5.2% in 2021, mostly due to the expanded Child Tax Credit. But Congress did not extend the CTC when it ended in December…
Read MoreEvent : Black Women’s Lives Count: Reclaiming Our Sisters Everywhere.
Support a permanent memorial for South Los Angeles victims of serial murders. ONLINE Thursday, December 8, 2022 3:30pm PST / 5:30pm CST / 6:30pm ESTRegister at https://bit.ly/rosesladec8 Event organized by Black Coalition Fighting Back Serial MurdersDonate: http://rosesouthla.org/donate For more info: http://rosesouthla.org/contact-us.
Read MoreEvent : Hear Selma James speak at KPFA’s Letters & Politics, on Hookers in the House of the Lord
Tune in to KPFA on Monday, December 5, to Letters and Politics with Mitch Jeserich for an interview with Selma James of the Global Women’s Strike. The interview will be aired at either 10.08am or 10:30. Selma will speak about the historic 1982 occupation of the Holy Cross Church by sex workers in London. She was their spokeswoman at…
Read MoreHaitian women mobilize against government violence
Powerful statement by Haitian women taking to the streets against government violence and massacres. Please share widely. https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/11/24/haitian-women-to-mobilize-on-november-25-against-political-violence/ Haitian women mobilize on November 25 against political violence Amid an increase in political violence and human rights violations, Haitian women of all backgrounds denounce violence against women by the governments of Ariel Henry and his Dominican…
Read MoreHam & High podcast : Selma James speaks about the campaign’s success, initial resistance from feminists, and how, if at all, things have improved for women and unpaid carers across the world.
https://podfollow.com/hamhigh/episode/4c268891beb680672a3aa2e7b9997926a1876ca0/view
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