Increasing participation of women in trade unions

Description

Increasing participation of women in trade unions involves implementing targeted recruitment, leadership development, and policy reforms to address gender barriers within union structures. This strategy aims to ensure equitable representation, amplify women’s voices in collective bargaining, and promote gender-sensitive workplace policies. By actively supporting women’s involvement, unions can better address issues such as pay equity, workplace harassment, and family-friendly practices, thereby strengthening their effectiveness and inclusivity in advocating for all workers’ rights.

Implementation

Many workers' organizations, nationally and internationally, have adopted special programmes to increase women's participation. ILO aims to establish a workers education scheme to assist trade unions in: (1) strengthening or setting up women's programmes where needed; (2) women's leadership training; (3) gender analysis and training in unions or at the enterprise level; and (4) the preparation of information and advocacy materials for use at the national level or in collective bargaining.