From membership to leadership: advancing women in trade unions Cinzia Sechi, advisor, ETUC ETUI training course: “Leadership and capacity building for women in trade unions”

European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC)

ETUC ETUC – European Trade Union Confederation Established in cross-industry confederations in 36 countries 12 European industry federations 60 million workers – approx. 45% of them female Our commitment Combat social exclusion, poverty, inequalities and all forms of discrimination Recognise diversity in the world of work and strengthen solidarity between groups of workers Analyse and tackle prejudice in trade unions and union structures.

ETUC action on professional equality 1.Support and shape European equality policies 2.Negotiate and cooperate with employers’ organisations 3.Cooperate with NGOs 4.Within the organisation: equality plans 4 levels

ETUC policies and objectives vis-à-vis its members…. ◦2012 gender equality action plans ◦2007 Charter on Gender Mainstreaming ◦8 March Survey (conducted annually since 2007) …in the context of European social dialogue… ◦Framework of Actions on Gender Equality signed by ETUC, BUSINESSEUROPE, UEAPME and CEEP in 2005 …and of EU priorities ◦European strategy for equality between women and men ( ) Gender balance in decision-making: the ETUC’s commitment.

Women are crucial to maintaining trade union membership levels. Around 45% of ETUC members are women. General trend of a growing number of women in the membership of trade unions, despite a reduction in trade union membership overall. Trade unions in northern and Baltic countries have the highest numbers of female members. The lowest rates of female membership (< 25%) were recorded in Turkey, Malta and Switzerland. Most countries in continental Europe have female membership rates of between 40% and 50% (France, Italy, Belgium, Portugal, etc.) * Carried out since 2007 on 84 ETUC national member confederations Trends identified by the ETUC’s 8 March Survey (Female) membership

Generally speaking, very low level of women in trade union leadership positions (President, Vice-President, General Secretary, Deputy General Secretary). Women are more likely to be in ‘deputy’ positions. There remains a certain degree of segmentation in terms of the policy issues handled by male and female trade union officers. Most trade unions have adopted concrete measures to improve gender balance, including in some cases quotas and reserved seats, although in practice many unions have not implemented policies fully. Within the ETUC: gender balance is also lagging behind in permanent committees. Trends identified by the ETUC’s 8 March Survey Decision-making

The ETUC project

 Main aims: ◦Raise awareness about the value added that women can bring to decision-making ◦Provide practical tools and guidelines, including examples of approaches by different trade unions ◦Help the ETUC, European industry federations and national confederations to devise proactive strategies  Tools developed: ◦Two discussion seminars ◦A resources guide ◦An awareness-raising leaflet ◦A policy resolution adopted by the ETUC Executive Committee on 8 March 2011 ◦ “From membership to leadership” project

Obstacles to gender balance in decision-making

 Trade union culture encourages male participation, which discourages female participation “Men have their own social networks and unofficial matters are decided before meetings and decision-making procedures begin” Obstacles (I)  Negative stereotypes hinder women’s participation  “In Romania, the media are very negative about the role of women in power. They focus on what women say and the reasons why they dress in a certain way”  The economic crisis has had a negative impact on female representation “… we must be careful because women’s problems tend to end up right at the bottom of equality programmes”  Women hold back, lack self-confidence and are reluctant to put themselves forward for leadership positions “We must believe in ourselves as women. That is difficult because the prevailing view is that trade union leaders should be men”  Women hit a glass ceiling “The glass ceiling is there all the time, but it’s only when we bump into it that we realise it exists… It is really important that we tackle these problems before the ceiling is reached”

 Time constraints have an impact on women’s opportunities to participate “Leadership is a time-consuming business and there is a culture that says that people in such positions have to work long hours. But why should a leadership role require a person to work 80 hours a week? Could it not be shared between two people?” Obstacles (II)  Women do not have sufficient knowledge of trade union structures and how to participate in decision-making “Knowledge is the most important thing. If women do not have access to knowledge and information about decision-making systems within trade unions or how to get into them, that is the biggest obstacle of all”  Young women are not attracted to leadership positions in trade unions “In Eastern and Central European countries, trade union leaders are poorly paid and their role is not highly regarded. Consequently, young men and women are not attracted to trade union activities. We must find a way to make our unions more attractive to young people, because they are our future”  Trade union structures reflect women’s disadvantaged status in the labour market “ We need a paradigm shift regarding what people can do. Skills are often transferable”

Gender balance in decision-making ….  Strengthens trade union democracy  Offers a more holistic approach  Helps to meet economic, social and political objectives  Improves the external image of trade unions  Promotes changes in union culture  Provides models for women and potential female members  Has a positive impact on recruitment and organisation Why place gender balance at the heart of trade union policies and structures? at the heart of trade union policies and structures?

Ten things trade unions can do to promote gender balance in union leadership and decision-making roles

1. Make the argument for gender balance as a core union priority. 2. Actively promote gender equality at all levels of the organisation through gender mainstreaming. 3. Introduce statutory rule changes on gender balance. 4. Prepare women for decision-making and leadership roles. 5. Engage men to build a consensus for balanced gender representation. 10 things to do

6. Address the image and culture of unions. 7. Build union organisation so that women’s activism and involvement in decision-making roles exists at all levels of the union. 8. Ensure that trade union organisations promote gender diversity through their own internal human resources. 9. Provide gender disaggregated data. 10. Take a strategic approach and develop concrete action plans to improve gender balance, including measures to monitor and assess the outcomes and implementation of actions. 10 things to do

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