Unions must do more for women

Changing the times of union meetings to allow part-timers to attend would increase the participation of women members, according to research by the Scottish TUC.

Its survey of women trade unionists in Scotland examined what makes women workers join unions and what makes women members participate in their union.

Women said their top reason for joining a union was for "support if I had a problem at work" (mentioned by 89% of respondents). More surprisingly, the second most common reason was "health and safety issues" (80%).

When asked what unions' priorities should be, the most common replies were "campaigning for better pensions" and "campaigning for better working conditions". But when asked what the priorities for women members should be, respondents opted for "equal pay/opportunities" followed by childcare.

The main reason why women members have become active in unions is "problems at work I felt strongly about", followed by being "encouraged to take the position". "Making sure women were represented" appears not to be a common reason for becoming active.

Respondents said the main deterrent to women's activism is that it is too time-consuming. But they also felt that there is insufficient encouragement for them to become active, and that unions are "not women-friendly enough".

The survey also examined ways of encouraging women's participation. There was strong agreement that having women at high levels within union structures encourages others to become active, and that part-time workers need specific strategies and actions to encourage them to participate.