Promoting Gender Equality - A Resource Kit for Trade Unions

Gender Promotion Programme
International Labour Office
August 2001

Promoting Gender Equality - A Resource Kit for Trade Unions

Employment

Promoting Gender Equality - A Resource Kit for Trade Unions

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

"Recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world ......Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status." ⁽¹⁾

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 In many cases, overt or direct discrimination has been replaced by indirect or more subtle forms of discrimination and victimization.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:

"Women are joining the world's workforce at an accelerating pace but mostly at the bottom in low paid, low status, precarious jobs. The economic and social cost of discrimination, particularly against women but also on the grounds of race, colour, creed, political opinion, sexual orientation, disability and age, is incalculable. Unions are fighting discrimination because it is wrong but we are also convinced that promoting equality benefits the whole of society by releasing the productive potential of people who are unfairly denied decent work" ⁽²⁾

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;
Promote the election of women trade union officials and ensure that trade union officials elected to represent women are given job protection and physical security in connection with the discharge of their functions".

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).

Unions have been giving priority to women as a target group for recruitment and have been attempting to increase female representation in leadership positions. Efforts within their own internal structures and policies are critical because unless women are sufficiently represented in the executive, unions cannot be credible to prospective female members nor can they be attuned to the distinct concerns of working women. Concerns such as equal pay for work of equal value, sexual harassment and family-friendly policies are more and more being treated as mainstream union issues, and unions are accepting the importance of promoting gender equality through the collective bargaining process. Trade unions are also looking for innovative ways to reach and organize workers in the services sector, outside the formal workplace, in various types of atypical and precarious forms of work and in the ever-growing and amorphous informal sector. Women account for the bulk of such workers.

But the tasks have not been easy. For a number of reasons, women workers have been described as "hard to organize" or may not understand or appreciate the potential role of trade unions on their behalf. In addition, trade unions are themselves operating under increasingly difficult conditions. Globalization, technological advances and rapid changes in labour markets and work organization are challenging traditional union strategies and sometimes even the raison d'être of trade unions. While trade unions are conscious of the need to become fully engaged in the challenge of promoting gender equality, they are often faced with the difficulty of appreciating how to do so under rapidly changing and often hostile conditions.

Women need unions, and unions need women

Women need unions

increasing female labour force participation has not meant improved working conditions or social protection;
women are more likely than men to be victims of labour market failures and distortions;
women account for the bulk of atypical workers who are inadequately covered by labour legislation;
women bear the brunt of combining work and family responsibilities;
misperceptions persist about the role and contributions of women in employment;
women workers need organization, representation and social protection;
gender equality issues and women's concerns have not been adequately addressed in collective bargaining;
in many countries, unions have been in the forefront of action to promote equality at work;
unions are important interest and lobbying groups which can influence government policy and legislation on women's and equality issues.

And unions need women

women account for an increasing proportion of the workforce;
to be credible and strong, unions must address the priority concerns of its current and potential members;
to be credible to women, unions must demonstrate that gender equality is an integral part of their own policies and structures;
growing numbers of women workers are standing up for their rights and seeking support for their rights;
women members are positively changing the way unions work and improving the image and influence of unions;
the promotion of gender equality helps unions strengthen and reaffirm their key role as agents of social change;
the promotion of gender equality provides common grounds for unions to forge alliances with other social actors

Inequalities between women and men persist

Globalization has created both unprecedented economic opportunities a well as deepened social inequalities and personal insecurities. Both women and men have been affected. However, gender inequalities persist and it is overwhelmingly women who suffer the most:

With 54 per cent of working age women in the labour force as compared to over 80 per cent male participation, the world is not making the most of its female talents and potentials.
Poverty is increasingly feminized. Women constitute 70 per cent of the world's 1.3 billion absolute poor.
Half of the world's labour is in sex-stereotyped occupations, with women dominating those occupations which are lowest paying and least protected.
More and more women are entering paid work but more jobs have often not meant better jobs. In developed countries, most new employment has been in part time jobs, while in developing countries women have gone mainly into the informal sector and home-based work. Globally, women earn 20-30 per cent less than men.
Women continue to be mainly responsible for the "care economy". If the value of the unpaid, invisible work done by women - approximately US$11 trillion per annum- is included, global output would be almost 50 per cent greater.
Some women have breached glass walls and ceilings, but worldwide they hold only 1 per cent of chief executive positions. The majority experience the effects of the so-called "sticky floor" - on the bottom rungs of their occupation.
More women are creating their own businesses, which are important sources of employment. But the policy, regulatory and institutional environments are often unfriendly to women entrepreneurs.
Women are increasingly migrating, both legally and illegally, for employment. Female migrant workers are among the most vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.
Women continue to have less access than men to investments in skills, knowledge and lifelong learning. In a world increasingly dominated by information and communications technology, gender inequalities lead to new forms of social exclusion.
The gender gap is graying into a poverty trap: women face a much higher risk than men of a drastic drop in living standards when they retire. Yet women account for the majority of the over-60 population in most countries.

Source: ILO Gender Promotion Programme. 2000. More and Better Jobs for Women and Men. Geneva: GENPROM.

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:

to assist and enhance the efforts of trade unions to promote gender equality and protect vulnerable women workers; and

to improve the understanding and appreciation of the role of trade unions.

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.

Booklets 1 to 6 cover different areas of trade union activities and interactions for the promotion of gender equality and the protection of vulnerable workers. There are, necessarily, some areas of overlap or repetition in the different booklets. Where issues are dealt with in more than one section or booklet, cross-references are provided.

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.

Each resource booklet is structured essentially to:

highlight the issues and concerns relating to the promotion of gender equality and the protection of vulnerable workers, so as to stimulate and inform the thinking of trade unions and other social actors, identify the tasks and challenges facing trade unions and present the case why their role is critical;
present guidelines and practical tools for action. The "how to" information is especially addressed to trade unions and is presented in various forms: as ideas, issues, checklists, guidelines, examples of what might be possible or effective, international instruments, etc. But the information is not intended to represent "best practices" or even necessarily "good practices" that should be adopted in all situations or be used in any definitive manner.
facilitate learning from the experience of others by providing actual examples of action and operational strategies that have succeeded or failed, and, where possible, by identifying the factors making for success or failure in particular contexts; and
indicate the scope for, and the advantages of, cooperation and collaboration between trade unions and employers' organizations, governmental and non-governmental organizations and other groups in civil society.

3. How to use the resource kit

It is very important to emphasize that the booklets do not form a modular training package. They are not intended to be used in total for any step-by-step, how-to-do training programme. Rather, the various booklets are intended to serve as an information resource to be used flexibly by a range of users.

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:

awareness raising or sensitization: to improve understanding and appreciation of gender equality issues and the challenges confronting trade unions. For example, trade union officials might use the kit as the basis for stimulating discussions, motivating action or organizing campaigns to promote gender equality;
advocacy and publicity: as material for media campaigns, to inform or educate other social actors and the wider public about the role of trade unions and innovative initiatives in the elimination of discrimination and the promotion of equality;
as a practical tool for action: users might obtain ideas and inspiration for discussion, debate or action; go through the checklists to ensure that they have taken into account all relevant factors; follow planning steps or guidelines; adopt or adapt examples or models for implementation; and assess the likelihood of success or failure in particular contexts;
training and educational purposes: as background or reference material for educational seminars or study groups, for training organizers, etc.;
as a networking tool: to help provide a basis for discussion or interaction between workers and employers, give ideas for promoting solidarity within and between unions, suggest bases for forging alliances with other social actors, etc.

To aid users, the materials are presented in different formats:

Statements in bold italics key ideas and facts

Text boxes in italics gender equality issues and the case for trade unions to promote gender equality and protect vulnerable workers

Shaded text boxes in small print examples or case studies of actual measures that have been undertaken to promote gender equality. Also relevant international Conventions. Additional examples and case studies are also provided in the Annex

guidelines for action

checklists or steps for action - however, these are not intended to be instructional

X measures to be avoided, negative factors

elaboration or explanation of the suggested guidelines, checklists, etc

references, additional reading

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:

Responsibility for implementing the mainstreaming strategy is system-wide, and rests at the highest levels. Adequate accountability mechanisms for monitoring progress need to be established;

The initial definition of issues and problems across all areas of activity should be such that gender differences and disparities can be diagnosed. Assumptions that issues or problems are neutral from a gender equality perspective should never be made. Gender analysis should always be carried out;

Clear political will and allocation of adequate resources for mainstreaming, including additional financial and human resources, if necessary, are important for translation of the concept into reality;

Gender mainstreaming requires that efforts be made to broaden women's equitable participation at all levels of decision-making;

Mainstreaming does not replace the need for targeted, women-specific policies and programmes and facilitating legislation; nor does it do away with the need for gender units or focal points.

Gender equality: basic concepts

Gender refers to the socially determined differences between women and men such as roles, attitudes, behaviours and values.

Sex identifies the biological differences between women and men. While sex is genetically determined, gender roles are learned, vary widely within and between cultures, and are thus amenable to change over time.

Gender Equality: Equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities of women and men, girls and boys. Gender equality is not just a "women's issue"; it concerns men as well. Equality does not mean that women and men will become the same, but that women's and men's rights, responsibilities and opportunities will not depend on whether they are born male or female.

Sameness or difference: Gender equality does not mean same treatment. If gender equality is seen as requiring men and women to be treated the same, this may lead to women being offered equality only on male terms (eg. only if they can conform to male-centred norms or requirements) and may reinforce the notion that difference = disadvantage. It is also important to address changes in male-gendered (but often taken as neutral) organizational and occupational structures, practices, cultures, norms, value systems, etc. Such changes may require "women-friendly" provisions to help women adapt to, or get on within structures as they currently are, or, alternatively, call for changes in those structures, cultures, etc. to accommodate women.

Discrimination: Any distinction, exclusion or preference based on designated criteria such as race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction, social origin or other designated criteria which have the effect of nullifying or impairing equality of opportunity or treatment in employment or occupation. The existence of discrimination in fact (in reality or in practice) is de facto discrimination (a legal expression). The existence of discrimination in law is de jure discrimination (a legal expression).

Direct or indirect discrimination: Sex discrimination can be overt or direct discrimination or more subtle, indirect discrimination. Employers may discriminate against women directly by limiting applications for certain jobs to only men or only women. Discrimination is indirect when employers impose criteria for applicants or specify characteristics which are not closely related to the inherent requirements of the job, as a screening device. The purpose of the screening is either to exclude women or to obtain workers of a certain type. Many jobs are still seen as exclusively 'male' jobs or 'female' jobs.

The promotion of gender equality: basic policy and programme concepts

Gender-blind and gender neutral policies and programmes
'Gender-blind' policies and programmes do not distinguish targets, participants or beneficiaries by sex or gender.

'Gender-blind' policies and programmes are not necessarily 'gender-neutral' in impact, that is they do not necessarily affect men and women in the same way.

Gender analysis

The systematic effort to identify and understand the roles and needs of women and men in a given socio-economic context. To carry out gender analysis, it is necessary to collect statistics by sex, identify gender differentials in the division of labour and the access to and control over resources, identify the practical and strategic gender needs of women and men, identify the constraints and opportunities facing women and men and assess the institutional capacities to promote gender equality.

Gender planning

Gender planning consists of developing and implementing specific measures and organizational arrangements for the promotion of gender equality, identifying how to incorporate gender concerns into mainstream activities and ensuring that adequate resources are earmarked.

Gender mainstreaming

A strategy for making the concerns and experiences of women as well as of men an integral part of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres and at all levels, so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate goal of mainstreaming is to achieve gender equality.

Positive or affirmative action: To eliminate the current direct and indirect consequences of past discrimination, special measures may need to be designed in order to achieve de facto equality of opportunity and treatment. Such positive measures (also termed affirmative measures) are intended to be temporary: once the consequences of past discrimination have been rectified, the measures should be removed. Positive action is seen as essential for the achievement of genuine equality between women and men in the world of work and society. Positive action may encompass a wide range of measures, including corrective actions such as setting targets for women's participation in activities from which they have previously been excluded, or promotional measures designed to give women access to wider opportunities.

References and additional reading

Bacchi, C. 1990. Same Difference: Feminism and Sexual Difference. London: Allen and Unwin.

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. 17^th. World Congress Statement on Making Vision into Reality: Priorities for the ICFTU in the 21^st 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://dmoz.org/Society/Organizations/Labor/Unions/ (dmoz - Open Directory Project, mainly UK trade union sites)

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.fnv.nl/~Marcel/unionsen.html (FNV Trade Union Sites on the World Wide Web - Netherlands)

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/labournet.org.uk/links/index/html (Labournet - UK)

http://www.cosatu.org.za/links/html (Congress of South African Trade Unions COSATU, links mainly to South African unions)

http://mirror/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 21^st Century", Decisions adopted by the 17^th 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.

Promoting Gender Equality - A Resource Kit for Trade Unions

Introduction

Booklet 1 Promoting gender equality within unions

Booklet 2 - Promoting gender equality through collective bargaining

Booklet 3 - The issues and guidelines for gender equality bargaining

Booklet 4. Organizing the unorganized: informal economy and other unprotected workers

Booklet 5 - Organizing in Diversity - Organizing in Diversity

Booklet 6 - Alliances and Solidarity to Promote Women Workers' Rights

Employment

Updated by IC. Approved by HH. Last update: 1 October 2001.

For further information, please contact the Employment Sector
at Tel: +41.22.799.6853 or E-mail: edemp@ilo.org

Copyright © 1996-2002 International Labour Organization (ILO) - Disclaimer

Statements in bold italics	key ideas and facts
Text boxes in italics	gender equality issues and the case for trade unions to promote gender equality and protect vulnerable workers
Shaded text boxes in small print	examples or case studies of actual measures that have been undertaken to promote gender equality. Also relevant international Conventions. Additional examples and case studies are also provided in the Annex
	guidelines for action
	checklists or steps for action - however, these are not intended to be instructional
X	measures to be avoided, negative factors
	elaboration or explanation of the suggested guidelines, checklists, etc
	references, additional reading