The Making of Women Trade Unionists

Citation

Avdelidou‐Fischer, N. (2007), "The Making of Women Trade Unionists", Equal Opportunities International, Vol. 26 No. 8, pp. 879-882. https://doi.org/10.1108/02610150710836190

As we have entered the new millennium, it seems appropriate to size up the trend of labour market feminisation, and particularly the developments of the last two to three decades on the trade union front. Because of the restructuring of the labour market, there is the concern that “women's issues” are not addressed by the male‐defined union agenda; trade unions need to develop strategies to revitalise their traditional bases. One initiative that was designed to support the aim of revitalisation is education. Kirton's book succeeds in marrying the study of this area of trade union activity with the continuing debates surrounding gender democracy, and contends that women‐only courses emerge as a significant experience in the making of women trade unionists.

A great strength of the book lies in the first three chapters, where Kirton draws upon a multi‐disciplinary literature to locate the study in conceptual, contemporary, and historical contexts. In the first chapter, Kirton places her work in a “feminist industrial relations” paradigm. She outlines the broad background of industrial relations and feminist theories, and concludes that only their combination can offer insights into lived experiences of union women. In the second chapter, the author looks at the contemporary position of women in British trade unions and discusses the main explanations for their limited representation in decision‐making structures. Kirton identifies women's separate organising as a feminist strategy that has delivered gains towards gender democracy. Stepping back in time, the third chapter outlines the progression of women's trade unionism to situate the research in a British historical context. The chapter reveals that women‐only courses are not a detached form of trade union education but they have been contingent on the evolution of women's organising throughout the late 19 and 20 centuries.

The author presents the case study research of MSF and TGWU in chapter 4 to 7. The study is in the tradition of qualitative research, which is entirely appropriate given Kirton's critical paradigm. In‐depth interviews, observation of courses, documentary data and a survey of course participants make valuable practical and empirical contributions, describing relationships among women's union involvement and work, or family events, key actors and course advancement, attendance and outcomes. However, it is refreshing to read that the author is not attempting to establish a cause and effect relationship, but to shed some light in hidden dynamics and the way women navigate their union participation within the worlds of work, union and family. The findings are offered on a thematic basis rather than by union setting, which enables a direct comparison. Chapter 4 provides an overview of the unions’ systems of education and exposes how key actors in both unions play an active role in influencing the masculine culture and rendering the courses more useful to women. Drawing on interviews with about 30 union women, chapter 5 examines their routes to union participation and involvement within the context of interconnected environments –work and union, home and family – and concludes that union careers are gendered from the beginning to end. Chapter 6 organises the analysis around key themes of women‐only courses and groups interviewees’ attendance motivations and experiences into distinct categories. This way Kirton brings about the concepts of “safe space”, “women's issues” and “shared learning”, which empower women and build increased confidence. In chapter 7, the author meets the same interviewees two years later, to explore how women's participation evolved. The analysis shows that although women had to balance the triple load of work, union and home, most of them sustained their participation or developed their union career.

The final chapter summarises these themes and draws some conclusions that challenge old notions of the typical participant or reasons for participation. The author points out some limitations and weaknesses of the current union structures but definitely speaks for the continuation of women‐only courses.

This book would be of interest to a wide range of sociologists, but will be particularly useful to all industrial relations scholars and those interested in data surrounding women's gender and union identities, as well as influences of different contexts on trade union careers.

I found the writing to be clear and straightforward, but I believe that Kirton's talent for qualitative research is mainly demonstrated in lively described observations, and the interesting portrayal of four women, presented together with the findings. One could argue that the findings are not particularly surprising, but this is part of their importance. Kirton's results empirically document the social construction of women unionists in a real‐life context of two British male dominated unions. These findings can stimulate thought and consideration of the involved social and historical dynamics, and maybe remind us of the need for a new women's movement. After all, Kirton does not claim her suggestions to be the final word in the gender democracy debate, and I do expect her critical approach to invigorate a new stream of research in the field of women's separate organising.