World wide women's campaign

An international union body is starting a world wide campaign to encourage unions to focus on the needs of young women, migrant women and women from ethnic minorities.

Women make up 42 percent of the global workforce and are joining unions at a higher rate than men. To double the number of women trade unionists worldwide and improve their working conditions, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, the AFL-CIO and the Coalition of Labor Union Women launched a new campaign, "Unions for Women, Women for Unions," March 7, one day before International Women's Day. Based on findings of ICFTU's 2001 "Ask a Working Woman" survey--which was modeled after the AFL-CIO survey--the campaign will focus on the needs of young women, migrant women and women from ethnic minorities. "In order to attract even more women to the labor movement, it is crucial we break down the barriers that prevent them from joining unions and change the perception that trade unions are not doing enough to meet their needs," said ICFTU Women's Committee Chair Nancy Riche. For more information about the campaign, visit www.icftu.org.

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March 2002 contents