Labor Union Blog

Working women make up about half of the workforce and nearly half of the union movement. But the number of women in union leadership roles do not reflect the growing numbers of women members. The Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), a nonpartisan research group, today issued a report that can help unions promote women’s voices and leadership.

Based on interviews with women who are union activists, the report, I Knew I Could Do This Work, points out the many obstacles women experience for becoming union activists and suggests ways to overcome them.

Here's Amy Caiazza, IWPR’s director of democracy and society programs and author of the report:

Unions are good for women workers, but they could be much better at promoting women into leadership positions. The strategies outlined in this report are designed to help women claim a voice of authority in an area that is traditionally dominated by men.