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Promoting Gender Equality - A Resource Kit for Trade UnionsGender Promotion Programme Introduction Table of Contents 1. Trade unions and gender equality 2. Aims and structure of the resource kit 3. How to use the resource kit 4. Some basic concepts relating to gender equality References and additional reading 1. Trade unions and gender equality
Gender equality is a fundamental human right and an essential condition for achieving effective democracy. The democratic structures of trade unions and their mandate to promote and protect workers' rights make unions important vanguards in the fight against discrimination at workplace, community, national, regional and international levels. With the increasing participation of women in paid work all over the world, the promotion of gender equality has
assumed additional significance. Although more and more women are working outside the home, gender remains an
important source of labour market discrimination. Just as some workers are discriminated against or victimized by
employers for being trade union members, so too women are often discriminated against because of their sex, marital
status or family responsibilities. When women attempt to join unions, they may be further discriminated against by
employers. In many cases, overt or direct discrimination has been replaced by indirect or more subtle forms of
discrimination and victimization. Women compared to men continue to be disadvantaged and vulnerable to exploitation
and in need of organization, representation and social protection:
It is obvious that trade unions have a critical role to protect workers who are discriminated against on the basis of sex or, for that matter, race, colour, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin, disability, family responsibilities, sexual orientation or age. The important role of trade unions in the promotion of gender equality and protecting vulnerable women workers was acknowledged in the Platform for Action of the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, September 1995), which called on governments and all social actors to (paragraphs 178h,i): "Recognize collective bargaining as a right and as an important mechanism for eliminating wage inequality for women and to improve working conditions;The Beijing Platform for Action encourages "efforts by trade unions to achieve equality between women and men in their ranks, including equal participation in their decision-making bodies and in negotiations in all areas and at all levels" (paragraph 192 d, p.113). The World Summit for Social Development (Copenhagen, March 1995) also adopted specific commitments and a
Programme of Action relating to `basic workers' rights'. These basic workers' rights were reaffirmed by the International
Labour Conference in June 1998 when it adopted the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its
Follow Up . The Declaration provides that all member States of the International Labour Organization (ILO) have an
obligation to respect, to promote and to realize, in good faith, certain principles, namely, freedom of association and the
effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining; the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour; the
effective abolition of child labour; and the elimination of discrimination on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion,
political opinion, national extraction or social origin in respect of employment and occupation. Beijing +5 (3) called on governments and all national and international actors to "Respect, promote and realize the
principles contained in the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its follow-up and strongly
consider ratification and full implementation of ILO Conventions which are particularly relevant to ensure women's rights
at work". Copenhagen+5 (4) also endorsed the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and
stressed the importance of "an enabling environment for social dialogue by ensuring effective representation and
participation of workers' and employers' organizations to contribute to the development of policies for achieving broad
based social progress" (paragraph 35).
Inequalities between women and men persist
2. Aims and structure of the resource kit This resource kit is intended to provide background information, practical guidelines and checklists, case studies and
examples of "good" and "bad" practice and reference materials:
The main target audience is trade unionists, especially officials, both women and men. But it hoped that the information
will also be of interest and use to all trade union members and to individual workers who are currently not organized. The
resource kit is also more broadly addressed to those concerned with the elimination of discrimination or interested in the
role of unions and the potential for collaboration or joint action with unions - including non-governmental organizations
and other civil groups (importantly, women's organizations and women activists), government agencies, employers and
employers' organizations, research and academic institutions and the media. The resource kit is comprised of a number of booklets. There is also an accompanying report (5) that provides the
empirical perspective based on a survey and case studies of the actual experiences of trade unions and some "lessons
learnt". The survey and this resource kit represent the results of the collaboration between the Gender Promotion
Programme (GENPROM) and the Bureau for Workers' Activities (ACTRAV) of the International Labour Office, the
Women's Committee of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the International Trade
Secretariats (ITSs), in particular the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and
Allied Workers' Associations (IUF) and Public Services International (PSI). At a validation workshop, trade unionists
discussed the relevance, user-friendliness, presentation style and appropriateness of the different booklets and made
suggestions for revisions. The resource kit now incorporates the suggested revisions. Booklet 1 Promoting gender equality within unions Deals with what trade unions can do within their own internal structures and policies to recruit more women members, enhance women's participation in all union structures and activities, and promote equality and solidarity among union members. Booklet 2 Promoting gender equality through collective bargaining Explains the importance of promoting gender equality through the collective bargaining process. Focuses on the process of gender equality bargaining (preparing for negotiations, at the bargaining table, and follow-up). Booklet 3 The issues and guidelines for gender equality bargaining Focuses on negotiating to avoid sex discrimination and to promote equality of opportunity and treatment for men and women workers, and provides bargaining guidelines for a number of key gender equality issues. Booklet 4 Organizing the unorganized: informal economy and other unprotected workers Highlights the diversity of informal and atypical workers and the difficulties and challenges of organizing and protecting such workers - who are mainly women, outside the scope of legal and social protection and vulnerable to poor working conditions and abuses of workers' rights. They include workers in the informal economy, part-time workers, home workers, domestic workers, workers in export-processing zones and migrant workers. Booklet 5 Organizing in diversity Illustrates how trade unions can "share the table and create space" for diverse groups including youth, older workers, workers with disabilities, lesbian and gay workers, ethnic minorities and indigenous people. Booklet 6 Alliances and solidarity to promote women workers' rights Explains why community unionism and solidarity within the labour movement are crucial in today's global context and
shows how trade unions are forging alliances and working with non-governmental and other civil organizations at the
local, national, international and global levels on a broad social agenda. The range of alliances is large and the bases for
such alliances very wide and varied, but the booklet attempts to highlight only those with particular relevance to women
workers' rights and gender equality.
3. How to use the resource kit Institutional or individual users can select particular booklets and topics and utilize or adapt the materials according to
their specific needs and contexts. The resource kit can serve for:
To aid users, the materials are presented in different formats:
4. Some basic concepts relating to gender equality The Beijing Platform for Action established gender mainstreaming as the global strategy for promoting gender equality.
The Beijing +5 final outcome document (paragraph 44) elaborates that: "Achieving gender equality and empowerment of women requires redressing inequalities between women and men
and girls and boys and ensuring their equal rights, responsibilities, opportunities and possibilities. Gender equality
implies that women's as well as men's needs, interests, concerns, experiences and priorities are an integral dimension
of the design, implementation, national monitoring and follow-up and evaluation, including at the international level,
of all actions in all areas". In adopting a mainstreaming approach, trade unions should not assume that there is no need for women-specific
activities or targeted programmes. Where women lack education or training, or access to resources, or face other
constraints, it is not realistic to assume that they can participate in, and benefit equally from, mainstream policies and
programmes. Specific attention should be given to women's needs and concerns (this is a rationale behind Booklets 4 and
5 of the Resource Kit dealing with those groups of women workers who are especially vulnerable to discrimination or in
need of special assistance or protection). Trade union projects that mainstream women may need special design features,
including positive or affirmative measures, to facilitate and promote the inclusion of women. It should not be an either/or
approach, unions should combine a number of strategies including mainstreaming women into all their activities, having
women-specific components of mainstream activities, and also having separate programmes or projects that are directed
exclusively at women. Trade unions committed to the promotion of gender equality may find these basic principles of gender mainstreaming relevant and useful (6): Guidelines:
Gender equality: basic concepts
The promotion of gender equality: basic policy and programme concepts
References and additional reading Bercusson, B. and L. Dickens. 1998. Equal Opportunities and Collective Bargaining in Europe 1. Defining the Issues.
Dublin: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Hannan-Andersson, C. 1999. "Clarity on concepts, goals and rationales: key to progress in implementing the
mainstreaming strategy". Paper presented at the Conference on Mainstreaming Gender in Policy and Planning:
South-North Experience. International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). 1995. Equality: The Continuing Challenge. ICFTU/LO-FTF
Project: Development of Study Materials (second edition). Brussels: ICFTU. _______________________________________________________ 2000. 17th. World Congress Statement on Making
Vision into Reality: Priorities for the ICFTU in the 21st Century. Durban, South Africa, 3-7April. _______________________________________________________ May 2000. Women workers: reaching for the sky
Trade unions and the Beijing Platform for Action. Report written by Kate Holman.
http://www.icftu.org/displaydocum...91210339&Language International Federation of Building and Wood Workers (IFBWW). 1997. Bargaining for Equality. Education Materials
for Women at the Work Place. Geneva: IFBWW. International Labour Office. 2001. The Role of Trade Unions in Promoting Gender Equality Report of the ILO-ICFTU
Survey. Geneva: ILO Gender Promotion Programme. _________________________ 1994. Women Workers' Rights Modular Training Package. Geneva: ILO Equality for
Women in Employment an Interdepartmental Project. International Labour Office Bureau for Gender Equality. 2000. Gender A Partnership of Equals. Geneva: ILO. Jewson, N. and D. Mason. 1986. The theory and practice of equal opportunities policies: liberal and radical
approaches,Sociological Review, Vol.34, No.2, pp.307-33. Karl, M. 1995. Women and Empowerment: Participation and Decision-Making. London: Zed Books and the United
Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service. Lim, L. L. 1996. More and Better Jobs for Women: An Action Guide. Geneva: ILO. Moser, C. O.N. 1993. Gender Planning and Development: Theory, Practice and Training. New York: Routledge. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). 1998. DAC Source Book on Concepts and
Approaches linked to Gender Equality. Paris: OECD. United Nations. 1999. 1999 World Survey on the Role of Women in Development Globalization, Gender and Work. New
York: UN Division for the Advancement of Women Department of Economic and Social Affairs. United Nations. 1996. The Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action Fourth World Conference on Women Beijing,
China 4-15 September 1995. New York: United Nations Department of Public Information. United Nations Twenty-third Special Session of the General Assembly entitled "Women 2000: gender equality,
development and peace for the twenty-first century", Further actions and initiatives to implement the Beijing Declaration
and the Platform for Action. Final outcome document as adopted by the plenary of the special session. 10 June 2000. United Nations Twenty-fourth Special Session of the General Assembly entitled "World Summit for Social Development
and beyond: achieving social development for all in a globalizing world", Proposals for further initiatives for social
development. Final outcome document as adopted by the plenary of the special session. 1 July 2000. Useful Websites: http://www.icftu.org (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions) http://www.world-psi.org/ (Public Services International) http://www.aflcio.org/women (AFL-CIO) http://www.global-unions.org (Global Unions) http://www.union-network.org (Union Network International) http://www.hri.ca (Human Rights Internet) http://www.labourstart.org/gldod.shtml (Labour Start, where trade unionists start their day on the net); http://www.osstf.on.ca/www/links/unions/html (Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation - Canada, not only teaching related but also Federations and Unions on the Internet. Includes powerful search engine on the listed sites); http://www.cf.ac.uk/ccin/union/ (Cyber Picket Line - UK, comprehensive directory of labour on the Web) http://www.eiro.eurofound.ie/related.html (EIROnline: European Industrial Relations Link, Ireland, hundreds of European sites) http://www.unions.org (Union Resource Network - USA, union websites in Canada, US, UK) http://www.igc.org/igc/ln/hg/unions.html (Labornet -USA) http://www.icem.org/resource/labres.html (International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Union ICEM - Belgium, organized by international, national and local levels, within industries and countries) http://www.cosatu.org.za/links/html (Congress of South African Trade Unions COSATU, links mainly to South African unions) http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/gems/ (Gender Promotion Programme, International Labour Office) http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw (UN Division for the Advancement of Women). Endnotes 1. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948. 2. "Making Vision into Reality: Priorities for the ICFTU in the 21st Century", Decisions adopted by the 17th World Congress of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), 3-7 April 2000. 3. UN Twenty-third Special Session of the General Assembly on "Women 2000: Gender, equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century" (New York, June 2000). Final outcome document on Further Actions and Initiatives to Implement the Beijing Declaration and the Platform of Action (paragraph 127b). 4. UN Twenty-fourth Special Session of the General Assembly on the World Summit for Social Development and Beyond: achieving social development for all in a globalizing world (Geneva, June 2000). 5. International Labour Office. 2001. The Role of Trade Unions in Promoting Gender Equality Report of the ILO-ICFTU Survey. Geneva: ILO Gender Promotion Programme. 6. Carolyn Hannan-Andersson, "Clarity on concepts, goals and rationales: key to progress in implementing the mainstreaming strategy". Paper presented at the Conference on Mainstreaming Gender in Policy and Planning South-North Experience, organized by the Development Planning Unit, University College London, 28 June-1 July, 1999.
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