Empowering women at work

Trade union policies and practices for gender equality

This paper outlines key areas where trade unions are addressing the barriers that women face in the labour market and in employment, and underlines the fact that gender equality is union business.

This report is divided in two parts:
-Part 1 sets forth the case for trade union action to address the barriers that women are facing in the labour market and in employment, and underlines the fact that gender equality is union business. It also presents an overview of the most up to date international and regional normative instruments and initiatives to guide trade union action on gender equality.

-Part 2 describes selected and illustrative trade union practices on key gender equality issues and proposes a series of actionable recommendations for trade unions and other stakeholders, with a view to setting a genuinely transformative agenda.

This compilation of illustrative trade union practices on gender equality has been created in collaboration with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) under the EU, UN Women and ILO project “Empowering women at work through responsible business conduct in G7 countries”. It is part of a series of publications on key stakeholders’ illustrative practices to achieve gender equality at work.