Diversity, Identities and Strategies of Women Trade Union Activists

Diversity among women trade union activists is explored with reference to feminism and the women's movement, and the social and civil rights movements of black, disabled and lesbian and gay groups. Relationships between this diversity and women's individual and group identities and priorities are traced through some of the women's own descriptions and reflections on their trade union activism. These are drawn from our research with the public service union UNISON, in particular, two questionnaire surveys and semi‐structured interviews. We draw on theories of social identity, the relations of out‐group status and gender group consciousness to help to understand and explain the complexity of the social interactions involved. This frames our central analysis of the role of self‐organization in the union in the construction of women's identities and consciousnesses, and the potential of self‐organization as a site for collective action leading to organizational challenge, change and transformation.