ABSTRACT
The broad aim of this book was to explore the making of women’s trade union participation within the context of the existing gender democracy deficit (Cockburn 1995). The study sought to understand how women’s trade union participation is shaped by their experiences of three interlocking social institutions – family, work and unions. The life history approach to the interviews with women trade union members revealed their routes to participation and the barriers they experienced and perceived to be in the way of union involvement. The main focus of the study was trade union women’s engagement with one form of women’s separate organizing – women-only courses. Education is a significant, but under-researched sphere of trade union activity, to the extent that from the literature we know very little about what unions are currently doing in the area and why (Kirton and Healy 2004). The research explored the social processes of women-only courses, investigating the ways in which women’s gender and union identities are shaped by engagement with the gendered discourses of the courses. By re-interviewing participants approximately two years after they had attended women-only courses, the research was also able to explore the longer term influence of the courses on the trajectory of women’s union careers.
