Gender Issues  

Trade unions need women members to make unions stronger, and, likewise, women need unions to get their demands met and, ultimately, live better.

The ICEM sectors are still largely male dominated, even though women are, as a result of globalisation, working more and more in the industries organised by the ICEM. Many of these industries increasingly require white-collar workers, not only in offices, but also in research and technology-driven jobs. These jobs are more attractive to women workers.

All ICEM's work has a gender perspective (Contract and agency labour, HIV/AIDS, global agreements, collective bargaining, trade union organising, privatisation, restructuring, work-life balance, etc.). All of these work-related topics affect men and women differently, which is why the ICEM covers them all with a gender perspective.

The ICEM publishes a monthly e-mail bulletin on gender issues that you can subscribe, or contribute to, by sending an e-mail to press@icem.org. You can also find current and previous versions of this bulletin by scrolling down this page.