- Conference
- 2021 National Disabled Members' Conference
- Date
- 8 July 2021
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
Conference notes that disabled women face barriers to participation in our union, in the workplace and in society.
Over one million of our members are women and a large proportion of these are disabled. Although UNISON has rules about gender proportionality which mean, for example, that where there are two seats at least one must be for a woman, the situation is less clear for disabled women. Although we have fair representation rules these are not clear cut.
For many of us, the daily mentally exhausting slog of dealing with our impairment leaves us with little energy to ‘play the game’ of getting ourselves known by attending as many regional meetings as possible and canvassing support. Women still do the lion’s share of caring work in society, whether for children or elderly relatives, and we can’t spend time cultivating votes in our ‘free’ time. It all feels like a man’s game that women are expected to play.
Conference regrets the talent and opportunity that is being lost because so many of us give up or are deterred from being active to the level we could achieve in our union due to caring responsibilities and the barriers we face as disabled people.
One of the few benefits of the pandemic was the move towards online meetings. This led to better engagement by disabled women and could be a model for the future.
Conference therefore calls on the National Disabled Committee to work with Learning and Organising Services and with regions to:
1. Assess and address any gaps in the level of support to help to guide disabled women around the maze of committees and sub-committees so they can find the best role in which they can grow and flourish
2. Analyse support at regional level for disabled women who want to stand for internal positions in the union and any barriers our ways of working may present
3. Develop a short guide to understanding the union’s democratic processes that can be used by regions and branches
4. Seek ways of offering online or hybrid meetings in the future to break down the barriers disabled women face.