- Conference
- 2024 National Women's Conference
- Date
- 18 September 2023
- Decision
- Carried
Conference, it’s a well-known fact that our union is made up of 80% women and that there are 5.5 million unionised workers in the UK. Women make up half the UK workforce. So why are women still so underrepresented in our union structures and in our union visibility?
UNISON collectively gives voice to working people from all walks of life, yet our trade union presents itself as a union for older, blue collar, white able-bodied men who have become gate keepers.
How can this be when over the past forty to fifty years, union strength has declined in traditionally male occupied industries. Union strength has rapidly grown in the public sector where more diverse women occupy a larger part of the workforce.
Conference, we constantly talk about the need to do more as a trade union to support women’s involvement and reduce the barriers to the participation of women members. We talk about proportionality all the time.
Conference, where are the diverse sisters in our union?
Without equal proportionality, diverse women in our union feel helpless, undervalued, isolated and victimised. This is not what we bargained for!
Proportionality is no longer enough! Equal and proportional involvement and engagement of diverse women in our union is key to our success.
Conference calls on the National Women’s Committee:
1)To work with the NEC to ensure the NEC itself is an inclusive structure that practices, promotes and ensures that women are involved and engage with the union proportionally and equally according to their diverse make up. And that there is training and organisational development to ensure this is culturally embedded in the union.
2. To work with the NEC to ensure that branch, regional and self-organised groups have structures that ensure women are involved and engage with the union proportionally and equally according to their diverse make up.
3. To work with the NEC to ensure that diverse women are represented in leadership positions within our union structures from the branch level to the NEC.
4. To ensure that easily accessible information about the roles that are open to members are available to diverse women.
5. To provide information about the advantages of union participation for diverse women.
6. To work with regional women’s committees and regional staff to provide assurance of support from branches and the regions for women from diverse backgrounds who show interest in top positions or in becoming an activist.
7. To look into the possibility of Learning and Organising Services (LAOS) providing confidence building training and a pathway to activism for women.
8. To discuss with self-organised group committees, ways to encourage diverse women to take active role within the union without prejudice and to offer them support.