The Many Faces of Eve’: Women’s Groups, Diversity and Democracy in British Unions

By Jane Parker

A focus on how Women's Groups address the interests of diverse constituent member groups via their WG organisation, aims and agenda.

Discussion of union equality and democracy usually locates women's group (WG) organising as a special representative form within unions. This study adjusts the analytical lens to focus on how WGs themselves address the interests of diverse constituent member groups via their WG organisation, aims and agenda. Building on earlier case research, a nationally representative survey of TUC affiliates was conducted in order to 'map' current WGs across unions. The survey data also permitted analysis of WG attention to group diversity relative to gender in their pursuit of equality and better interest representation. A significant minority of WGs was found to address diversity relating to the union and beyond, and most union members belong to TUC affiliates where WGs tackle diversity concerns to some extent. Implications for WG and union practice, and for research and theory, are examined.

WGs are widespread and assume many common forms in British unions. Despite their 'single strand' (i.e. gender) identity basis for organising and largely union-sanctioned aims, our survey data emphasise that other WG features such as their agenda concerns are more commonly infused with an assortment of equality and democracy notions. For a substantial minority of WGs, these include equality premised on diverse group interests and consensus-building. And nor is this a narrowly-defined pursuit of diversity - it extends beyond differences between women and men at work to stress differences among women and elements of trans-gender differences as they relate to the union setting and beyond. Against those who maintain that WGs' pursuit of diversity deepens (union) divisions, it can be posited that growing attention to such favours their retention insofar as they provide a central plank of union strategy to more effectively represent and organise increasingly diverse memberships.

Warwick Papers in Industrial Relations, no. 76