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Women

All workers should enjoy equal rights. Yet female and young workers remain subject to discrimination resulting in many being denied their fundamental rights. IndustriALL fights their discrimination at work by promoting their fairer and stronger participation in trade unions.

Contact person:

Armelle Seby
e-mail: [email protected]
tel. +41 22 304 1855

INDUSTRIALL MATERIALS

Resources

ILO, Ending violence and harassment against women and men in the world of work, 2017

ACTRAV (ILO), Violence and Harassment against Women and Men in the World of Work

ITUC tool kit to tackle gender-based violence

ILO, World Employment Social Outlook Trends for Women 2017

Global Compact and gender equality

Blog JUMP “Empowering Women, Advancing the Economy”

Global Employment Trends for Women

UNiTE To End Violence Against Women

Women and technology – the attitude gap

Women for Women's Human Rights

The International Campaign to Stop Rape and Gender Violence in Conflict

Women Deliver

Women over 50 in the workplace - a TUC report

Stop Violence Against Women logo (jpeg)

OECD: Gender equality issues

The Global Gender Gap Report 2014

Tunisian women trade unionists driving change

28 July 2025 at 17:15

A new generation of women trade unionists in Tunisia is leading the way,  building solidarity across sectors, developing concrete solutions for workers, and strengthening the movement from within. Through IndustriALL’s MENA Union Leadership Academy, these leaders are gaining the skills and confidence to shape the future of union work in the country.

Unions push to close South East Asia's gender pay gap

22 July 2025 at 11:04

Twenty women and men trade union leaders from South East Asia made a clear commitment to take action to reduce the considerable gender pay gap in the region.

Fighting for fair pay: South Asian unionists trained by IndustriALL

30 June 2025 at 16:47

On 25–26 June, IndustriALL Global Union held a training workshop in Kathmandu, Nepal, for its South Asian affiliates, focused on the pay equity modules launched earlier this year. More than 20 unionists participated in the event, which aimed to strengthen the capacity of unions’ wage bargaining teams and the women’s committee members to address issues related to pay equity and the value of work. The workshop was part of a series of regional training courses for affiliates on pay equity funded by the FES

Strategic push for gender equality at IndustriALL’s 4th Congress

5 June 2025 at 11:56

IndustriALL’s Women’s Committee met online on 26–27 May to start preparations for IndustriALL women’s conference and Congress in Sydney in November. It provided an opportunity to assess progress and evaluate systemic challenges. 

South Africa: Women miners stripped naked at Kopanang gold mine

22 May 2025 at 17:32

IndustriALL Global Union affiliate the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is condemning the dehumanising body searches that women miners are being subjected to daily at Kopanang gold mine - about 170 km southeast of Johannesburg.

5 reasons to join a union

8 May 2025 at 17:00

There’s never been a more important time to join a union. According to Oxfam, the richest 1 per cent of the global population now own 45.6 per cent of the world's wealth, while the poorest 50 per cent hold just 0.75 per cent. Trade unions fight for working people so they get a fairer share of profits, that in turn leads to a healthy economy and stable society. So what do they offer? 

Unions in Latin America’s energy sector work towards a gender-sensitive just transition

8 May 2025 at 16:29

Eleven women union members from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica and El Salvador attended a seminar in Colombia on how to ensure a gender-sensitive just transition for the energy sector, with attendees agreeing to implement action plans in their unions. 

Indian unions call for increased fight against precarious work

5 May 2025 at 12:26

Last week, on 28 April, at IndustriALL’s India Council meeting, affiliated unions discussed challenges facing the trade union movement in the country, including the continued rise of precarious employment, the impending implementation of anti-worker labour laws and the exclusion of unions from national-level discussions on the energy transition.

Unionist brings worker voices to Namibian parliament

30 April 2025 at 15:18

One of the trade union leaders advancing workers’ rights as a member of Parliament (MP) in Namibia is Honourable Justina Jonas.

Fighting GBVH in Bangladesh’s H&M supplier factories

27 March 2025 at 11:52

IndustriALL affiliates in Bangladesh along with Swedish trade union IF Metall and clothing brand H&M Group are undertaking awareness raising workshops and trainings on gender-based violence and harassment in H&M’s supplier factories.

IndustriALL calls for stronger protections for women garment workers at UNCSW69

18 March 2025 at 16:59

Trade unions, industry leaders and activists met at the UN Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW69) Forum to push for legally binding agreements that protect women workers in the textile and garment industry. Hosted by IndustriALL Global Union, the event shed light on the ongoing struggles of garment workers, particularly women, and the urgent need for greater corporate accountability in global supply chains.

South Africa: NUM national women’s conference vows to fight patriarchy, gender-based violence at work

12 March 2025 at 16:32

“You must dismantle patriarchy wherever you are,” sang 350 delegates who participated at the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) women’s national conference in Johannesburg, 7-8 March.

A new tool for trade unions to fight the gender pay gap

7 March 2025 at 11:21

IndustriALL is launching its new pay equity training modules for its affiliates. This practical tool aims to better equip unions in their collective bargaining and to put the value of work at the centre of wage negotiations.

A call for a gender-transformative social contract at Beijing+30

7 March 2025 at 09:18

Ahead of next week’s 69th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69/Beijing+30) global unions are calling for a gender-transformative new social contract, stressing the urgent need for action to protect gender equality and workers' rights worldwide.

A movement, not a moment: International Women’s Day 2025

6 March 2025 at 17:32

"Every year on 8 March, companies post messages about gender equality. Governments make speeches. Flowers are handed out in workplaces and we often talk about a 'celebration'. But where is the action? Where is the change? International Women’s Day must not be reduced to empty words and gestures, it must be a day of mobilizing, of fighting, of pushing forward," says IndustriALL assistant general secretary Christina Olivier. 

Malaysia: women union leaders reject unsafe and unhealthy working conditions

3 March 2025 at 14:32

At the 27 February IndustriALL Malaysia women’s committee meeting, 30 women union leaders, from IndustriALL Global Union Malaysia affiliates, highlighted unsafe and unhealthy practices in the country's manufacturing sectors. 

Mobilize for gender equality

27 February 2025 at 09:18

The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, turning 30 this year, has been key in driving a new women’s rights and a gender equality agenda. However, the UN highlights that despite significant strides, progress on gender equality, the rights and empowerment of all women and girls remain slow.

New toolkit to tackle gender-based violence in the battery supply chain

6 February 2025 at 15:56

The global shift to renewable energy has put the battery supply chain in the spotlight, but behind the scenes, workers, particularly women, face alarming levels of gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH). To combat this, IndustriALL has released a new toolkit offering concrete strategies to address this urgent issue.

Driving change to end workplace violence against women

25 November 2024 at 11:13

Today, on International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, IndustriALL Global Union reflects on a year of progress and renews the commitment to eradicate gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) in the workplace.

IndustriALL women tackle AI bias and GBVH

13 November 2024 at 12:01

IndustriALL’s Women’s Committee met virtually on 6-7 November to discuss advancing gender equality across sectors. Standout themes were artificial intelligence (AI), due diligence, gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH), and an inspiring pilot mentorship programme. 

Ethiopia’s Bole Lemi industrial park sets up workplace daycare centres

30 October 2024 at 15:29

One of Ethiopia’s industrial parks, Bole Lemi, in Addis Ababa, has set up workplace child daycare facilities to cater for young mothers working in the park. 

New centre for Tunisia’s women garment workers

26 September 2024 at 12:30

A new women’s centre has opened in Tunis to support female workers in Tunisia’s textile and garment industry. Run under the auspices of Fédération Générale du Textile, de l'Habillement, Chaussure et Cuir - FGTHCC-UGTT and IndustriALL and sponsored by online retailer ASOS, the centre will support female workers around gender-based violence and health and safety, training and campaigning for women-related matters, especially ratification of C190.

Making the textile and garment industry in MENA and Africa safer

19 September 2024 at 05:32

Participants from unions representing textile and garment workers in Africa and MENA joined experts from the ILO, OECD, International Accord, as well as online brand ASOS for a conference on occupational health and safety in the textile and garment industry.

There is still a gender pay gap

18 September 2024 at 14:35

International Equal Pay Day, celebrated on 18 September, represents the longstanding efforts towards the achievement of equal pay for work of equal value. The gender pay gap persists globally, averaging 20 percent despite equal pay laws and widespread ratification of the ILO Equal Remuneration Convention. This gap stems from entrenched gender inequalities in society, the economy, and the labour market. Closing the gender pay gap is one of the ways to achieve social and economic justice for women.

ILO report highlights IndustriALL C190 work

13 September 2024 at 10:22

A recent report by the International Labour Organization (ILO), entitled: Violence and Harassment in the World of Work, shines a crucial spotlight on the escalating issue of workplace violence, with a particular focus on responses to rising levels of violence and harassment since the COVID-19 pandemic and how unions adapted and shifted their negotiations to include responses to the pandemic while continuing to implement their strategies relating to both the ratification and full implementation of the Convention (C190).

©2025 – industriALL