Kvinder som en ressource for fagbev?gelsen: UNISON's ligestillingsstrategi og det britiske arbejdsmarked

Abstract

This research paper builds upon a report I have used as background material for presentations within the framework of the Danish LO. It also makes up a part of my Ph.D. thesis about gender equality policy problems in the labour movement in Denmark and the UK. The thesis will be finished autumn 2003. The object of the paper is the new gender equality policy of the British union UNISON. UNISON has implemented the gender equality policies directly into the union structure and democracy. Women are secured representation through rules of proportionality and fair representation. Besides that UNISON has self-organised groups for women, black members, lesbians and gays, and for disabled members. The paper concludes that the construction of a new agenda for gender equality policy was a result of active and strategic action by gender equality agents, but also made possible because of the pressure on the British unions for regaining power at the labour market. One important move was to relate gender equality and renewal of union democracy. Implementation of the gender equality policy and the change to a more memberled organization is a still ongoing process. Change takes time, and on top of that the organizational culture in some parts of the union is reluctant to the new policies. The openness of the policy has resulted in self-organisation and fair representation being implemented in very different ways as in very different levels of membership-activity. But in general more women has become active and has gained seats in the union structure, while women as a group have not yet gained sufficient influence. There are though two more principal problems with the gender equality policy that raises the question: are the gender equality policy and the new structures for democracy and organization extensive enough? Focus is here upon representational democracy-><-participative democracy, and affirmative-><-transformative gender equality strategies. The research builds upon interviews with British gender equality agents, studies of documents, the report 'Women in UNISON' (Colgan & Ledwith 2000), and analysis of UNISON primarily by Colgan & Ledwith, and McBride. The research approach is 'soft' constructivism.