Building gender-responsive trade unions: Strengthening women's leadership and representation

Building gender-responsive trade unions: Strengthening women's leadership and representation

Central Trade Unions develop joint state-level action plans to advance women's leadership and representation.

27 July 2026

Women trade union leaders participate in a panel discussion, sharing experiences and strategies to strengthen women's leadership, representation, and influence in trade unions.

NEW DELHI (ILO News) - Trade union leaders and representatives from different states of India - Jharkhand, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and West Bengal - have developed preliminary joint state-level action plans to strengthen women's leadership and representation across the trade union movement during a workshop supported by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Held in Cochin on 27-28 July 2026, the hybrid capacity-building programme, titled "Gender-Responsive Trade Unions: Building Leadership, Representation and Influence", brought together leaders and representatives from 11 Central Trade Unions to explore practical strategies for promoting more inclusive and gender-responsive workers' organization. As more women participate in India's workforce across sectors, the programme focused on strengthening women's voice and contribution in trade union decision-making to ensure that workers' organizations better reflect and respond to the priorities and concerns of women workers.

A trade union representative shares her experiences during the workshop "Gender-Responsive Trade Unions: Building Leadership, Representation and Influence".

Through interactive discussions, experience sharing and group exercises, participants exchanged experiences, identified organizational challenges and developed preliminary joint state-level action plans, committing Central Trade Unions to work together within their respective states to strengthen women's leadership and representation.

Recognising the different contexts across states, the plans identify priority economic sectors and groups of women workers, particularly those in the informal economy and other vulnerable forms of employment, and set out practical actions, milestones and timelines for implementation. These include awareness and organizing campaigns, leadership and capacity development, mentoring and networking opportunities, stronger coordination among trade unions, and mechanisms to monitor progress.

Deepa Bharathi, Senior Specialist on Gender Equality, Non-Discrimination and Inclusion at the ILO, highlighted the importance of building inclusive and representative workers' organizations.

"When women lead, trade unions become more inclusive, more resilient, and better equipped to defend the rights and dignity of all workers. Strong trade unions are built on equality and non-discrimination. Strengthening women's representation is not just about fairness - it's about creating a labour movement that truly reflects and serves every worker," said Bharathi.

The programme also emphasized that advancing gender equality requires more than increasing women's membership. It explored institutional mechanisms that support leadership development, accountability and women's leadership through gender-responsive organizational policies.

Yuki Otsuji, ILO's Workers' Activities Specialist, noted: "Ensuring that women are represented in trade union leadership and decision-making is essential for building stronger, more democratic and inclusive workers' organizations. When women have equal opportunities to lead and influence decisions, trade unions are better equipped to represent the interests of all workers and participate effectively in social dialogue."

Reflecting on the workshop, Priyanka Singh from Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh highlighted the importance of translating the knowledge gained into practical action at both the individual and organizational levels to drive meaningful change within trade unions.

Devika Singh from the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) emphasized that further work is needed at the grassroots level to help women better understand their labour rights and the interconnected nature of issues at the global, regional and local levels. "Building this understanding is essential to strengthening women's participation and voice, while enhancing their capacity to actively engage and take on leadership roles within trade unions," said Singh.

Participants also strengthened their understanding of the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100), the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) and the Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (No. 190), and discussed their practical application in organizing, collective bargaining, social dialogue and advocacy.

As a next step, participating Central Trade Unions will begin implementing the joint state-level action plans, prioritising outreach to women workers in sectors and occupations identified by each state, particularly in the informal economy and other vulnerable forms of employment, including emerging sectors such as the platform economy. The plans set out milestones and timelines for awareness and organizing campaigns, leadership and capacity development, and promote state-level joint forums to coordinate implementation, monitor progress, exchange experiences and good practices, and sustain collaboration across trade unions.

The workshop reaffirmed the ILO's commitment to supporting trade unions in strengthening women's voice, leadership and representation through practical institutional measures and continued capacity development, contributing to stronger and more representative workers' organizations.

The participants at the hybrid capacity-building programme "Gender-Responsive Trade Unions: Building Leadership, Representation and Influence", held in Cochin on 27-28 July 2026.