TY - BOOK T1 - Gender and Leadership in Unions Y1 - 2013 A1 - Gill Kirton A1 - Geraldine Healy KW - gender KW - gender equality KW - social justice KW - union leadership KW - women trade union leaders KW - women union members AB -

Reflecting the increased attention to gender and women in the field of employment relations, there is now a growing international literature on women and trade unions. The interest in women as trade unionists arises partly from the fact that women comprise 40 percent of trade union membership in the USA and over 50 percent in the UK. Further, despite considerable overall union membership decline in both the UK and USA, more women than men are joining unions in both countries. Recognition of the importance of women to the survival and revival of trade union movements has in many cases produced an unprecedented commitment to equality and inclusion at the highest level. Yet the challenge is to ensure that this commitment is translated to action and improves the experience of women in their union and in their workplace.Gender and Leadership in Trade Unions explores and evaluates the similarities and differences in equality strategies pursued by unions in the US and the UK. It assesses the conditions experienced by women union members and how these impact on their leadership, both potential and actual. Women have made gains in both countries within union leadership and decision-making structures, however, climbing the ladder to leadership positions remains far from a smooth process. In the trade union context, women face multiple barriers that resonate with the barriers facing aspiring women leaders in other organizational contexts, including the gendered division of domestic work; the organization and nature of women’s work; the organization and nature of trade union work and the masculine culture of trade unions. The discussion of women trade union leaders is situated more broadly within debates on governance, leadership and democracy within social justice activism.(publisher's statement)

PB - Routledge CY - London L2 - eng ER - TY - RPRT T1 - Women and Union Leadership in the UK and USA: First Findings From a Cross-National Research Project Y1 - 2010 A1 - Gill Kirton A1 - Geraldine Healy A1 - Alvarez, S. A1 - Lieberwitz, R. A1 - Gatta, M. KW - gender KW - Great Britain KW - labor movement KW - labor rights KW - union leadership KW - unions KW - United States KW - women AB -

This is a report prepared for Cornell Conference on Women and Union Leadership held at Cornell University, New York City on May 8th 2010 and for Queen Mary/SERTUC Workshop on Women and Union Leadership held at Congress House, London on 11th September 2010. The project was funded by the Leverhulme Trust.

[Excerpt] This report offers the first findings of a unique comparative research project on women in union leadership in the UK and the USA. It is the first study that seeks to systematically investigate the experiences of women in union leadership in two countries using the same research methodologies and carried out by an American/British research team.

PB - Queen Mary University of London CY - London L2 - eng UR - http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/reports/28/ ER -