GLU Alumni Research Project
Gender and Trade Unions
In September 2009, alumni from the Global Labour University set up a group to research the gender issues and the role and status of women in trade unions internationally.
The participants were women and men from trade unions in 12 countries who agreed to work together on a programme of 3 interrelated projects, together with the academic coordinator, Sue Ledwith of Ruskin College, Oxford UK.
about the project
Background:
The three research projects are closely interrelated and are :
- Trade union structures & policies for gender and equality
- Women and TU leadership
- Gender agendas for bargaining (BAG)
Project’s aims:
- To make gender and diversity issues more visible within our unions and the wider international labour movement.
- To provide examples of creative, innovative and good practices across labour movements
- Development of alumni skills/knowledge/empowerment, and opportunities to develop strategies collectively
- To develop an enduring network
This is the first report which draws on the work submitted by the research group members across all three projects. It compares and contrasts the situation in the countries in the research, identifying key themes which emerge from the reports, locating them within a wider analysis of labour market structuring and varieties of patriarchal, racialised and diverse cultural frameworks.
Various statistical data and country reports were produced from colleagues about
Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ghana, South Korea, Nigeria, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, UK and Zimbabwe.