ABSTRACT
It is important that any attempt to understand women, employment and organizations considers the role of trade unions in advancing or holding back the gender equality project. It is argued that trade unions have ‘helped shape the contours of inequality’ (Dickens 1997: 287), but that they can also be part of the solution to the problem. Dickens (1997: 287) argues for a multi-pronged, articulated approach to equality policy-making involving the three key industrial relations actors – the state, employers and trade unions. Within the context of a discussion of women and organizations, trade unions also make an interesting case study of the possibilities for gender transformation of structures and cultures.
