Women’s union activism and trade union revitalization: The Polish experience
Authors:
- 4 April 2012
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Economic and Industrial Democracy
- Vol. 34 (2) , 269-289
Abstract
This article discusses the role of grassroots women’s activism for trade union revitalization in the new capitalist economies in Eastern Europe by examining the case of Poland. The analysis of 23 expert interviews with trade union leaders and 48 biographical interviews with company-level women unionists in private manufacturing and in the public sector suggests that women’s efforts to reclaim control over their occupational lives create a grassroots potential to revitalize trade unions. However, these positive developments are constrained by cultural and organizational factors which limit women’s full access to decision-making bodies in the largest Polish trade union confederations.Keywords
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