- Conference
- 2006 National Women's Conference
- Date
- 27 October 2005
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
Conference is pleased to see that women still comprise two-thirds of the membership of UNISON. Conference is concerned that every support should be given to women to ensure that they are enabled to take an active role within the union. Conference is pleased that the Pathways course was included in the national education programme and would now ask for Conference to support all women participating in the programme by giving them further support to take up activist roles within branches.
Conference calls on the National Women’s Committee to support women activists who have participated in the Pathways programme by ensuring mentoring programmes are in place for those activists. This will include shadowing experienced women stewards.
This mentoring programme should be focused and structured, underpinned by a clear goal achievement process. This way there will be clear objectives for all participants to ensure that energy and momentum are sustained.
Conference therefore calls on the National Women’s Committee to work with UNISON’s Learning and Organising Services (LAOS) and to encourage all branches to introduce a mentoring programme that includes appropriate and regular training and skills development for the mentors.
The National Women’s Committee will ask branches to encourage their experienced women activists to mentor those participating in the Pathways programme for a period of six months.
That this programme will be monitored and evaluated by the National Women’s Committee in liaison with regional women’s committees.
Conference calls for a report back to National Women’s Conference 2007 on the implementation of the above.