Executive Summary

This year 8th of March survey looked at two different area of gender representation in ETUC member organisations. On one side we observed the progress made in terms of women’s presence in the trade union ranks and at decision-making levels. On the other, we looked at trade union practices to ensure that the gender mainstreaming principle is implemented in collective bargaining units and content.

Compared to the previous two 8th of March surveys , there has been a further increase of the number of organisations that took part in the survey with a total of 55 national confederations from 30 EU Member States that sent back their replies. The number of EIF respondents on the contrary continued to be poor with only 4 EIF (out of 12) responding to the survey.

With regard to the changes in the female membership of confederations affiliated to the ETUC, the majority of respondents have reported no change or almost none since 2009 and only a limited number registered an increase in their female trade union membership. Nevertheless, despite a general reduction in the total of trade union membership since 2008, women members are constantly growing and therefore clearly showing that for trade unions attracting more women to their ranks is playing a crucial role in maintaining trade union growth.

In terms of trade union leadership, the presence of women remains very limited with almost no progress with respect to past years. The number of women presidents (4 out of 42) has worsened since last year when 6 Presidents were recorded. As for the number of women who are General Secretary (8 out of 39) no significant changes have to be observed with respect of last year survey, when 7 female General Secretaries were reported in total.

The survey shows that the level of female representation in ETUC affiliates’ decision making bodies is lagging behind. This is the main rule, with some exceptions in the Nordic unions. Only a limited number of organisations have a number of female delegates in their General Council which reflects or is close to their trade union female membership. The same situation is observed in the composition of trade unions’ Executive and Steering Committees. The situation seems to be more critical in some Southern and Central Eastern Europe confederations where a percentage comprised between 0% - 10% of women seating in decision making bodies has been registered.

Finally, the survey shows that the majority of ETUC affiliates are putting in place various initiatives and instruments in order to mainstream gender equality in their collective bargaining systems. Several confederations have adopted guidelines to enhance the gender dimension of their members’ collective bargaining practices. Other measures frequently adopted include training negotiators, studies and awareness raising campaigns. Nevertheless, several members have highlighted that collective bargaining is still an area where trade unions have to invest further in order to ensure that female workers’ needs are systematically taken into account.

General Introduction

As part of the follow up to the 11th ETUC Congress held in Seville (Spain) in May 2007, ETUC carried out the third of what has become an annual 8th March survey . The aim of this survey is to assess progress in reducing the gender representation gap in trade unions and to highlight successful gender mainstreaming activities that are taking place within our affiliated organisations. Every year the survey also focuses on a topic that is key for trade unions and/or EU institutions. This year’s survey tackled the issue of women in decision making position within trade unions and women’s presence in collective bargaining negotiations and units.

For download

To download the report in PDF format, please click on icon below.