Women union leaders are active not just in their own schools but also in their communities. That’s according to Education International (EI) president Susan Hopgood who was addressing the EI Women’s Caucus at EI’s 7th World Congress in Ottawa, Canada, on 21 July.
“We also participate in civil society,” said Hopgood, adding that she has been invited to speak about public education and education unions to a range of groups specifically because of her profile as a leading union activist. She was participating in a panel discussion, ‘Highlighting the importance of women union leaders outside of trade unions’. In her home country of Australia, she said, it can be common for union leaders to move into politics. “This can be a good thing, particularly if they bring the skills of trade unionism – such as negotiation – with them.”
Union skills
One such woman who has made that transition from unionism to politics is Teopista Birungi Mayanja, a long-time unionist with the Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU). Her passion for education drove her to organise teachers so that they could advocate collectively for transformation. Now, she uses those same skills and passion as Deputy Director of Education Services at Kampala Capital City Authority, in charge of planning, coordinating, monitoring, and delivering education in the area.
Social justice
There are also indirect benefits to women’s involvement in union membership. “Women in unions earn 24 per cent more than women not in unions, making the growth in union membership of women good for communities,” said Lily Eskelsen García, president of the National Education Association (NEA) in the United States. The growth in the number of women in union leadership also changes the work of unions, she said. “Unions become involved in issues including immigration, gun violence, and marriage equality.”
That focus on social justice was echoed by Carmen Brenes, secretary general of the Asociación Nacional de Educadores(ANDE) in Costa Rica, who said that true social justice could be created by trade unions working at a neoliberal level.
In addition, women in union leadership can also achieve additional objectives by working in solidarity with other groups. “In Costa Rica, women are pushing for an alternative type of pedagogy and for greater political and cultural development,” she said, adding that round table discussions are made up of people from different specialities in the community.
Visibility important
That visibility of women trade union leaders in their community is vital, given the invisibility of women in leadership roles in many spheres. Johanna Jaara Åstrand, president of Lärarförbundet in Sweden, said that while 50 per cent of government ministers in Sweden are women, “just 3.5 per cent of board members in publicly listed companies are women, so there is a long way to go”.