Trade Union Participation of Afro-Descendant Women in Chocó, Colombia: A Socio-Legal and Intersectional Analysis

This study analyzes the dynamics of social exclusion affecting the participation of Afro-descendant women in trade union organizations in Chocó, Colombia, between 2000 and 2025. Adopting a socio-legal, intersectional, and territorial perspective, the study seeks to understand the barriers that limit their access to representative spaces and the strategies that strengthen their collective action. A qualitative case-study methodology was employed, combining documentary analysis, semi-structured interviews, and surveys conducted with 30 participants. The findings reveal persistent organizational racism, sexism within trade unions, precarious working conditions, territorial inequalities, and training gaps, all of which constrain women’s leadership and the continuity of organizational processes. At the same time, the study identifies practices of resistance, support networks, self-directed learning, and the development of autonomous agendas that strengthen women’s political influence across different trade union settings. The study concludes that achieving more equitable trade union participation for Afro-descendant women requires institutional and organizational responses grounded in differential, territorial, and intersectional approaches aimed at reducing existing inequalities.