Choose to Challenge this International Women’s Day
The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is #ChooseToChallenge, and Trade Union history is full of examples of women who have chosen to challenge traditionalist assumptions about a woman’s role in politics and society.
That fight has taken many forms. At the start of the 20th century, the Suffragettes were fighting tirelessly for our right to vote, by the 1980s the Women Against Pit Closures (WAPC) were giving women across the country an opportunity to exert feminist ideology through an industrial dispute whose enemy-in-chief was a woman Prime Minister.
The 1980s also saw Brenda Dean, a key figure in the Battle of Wapping, become the first woman elected to head a major industrial trade union (the Society of Graphical and Allied Trades). In the previous decade Jayaben Desai led the two-year picket against working conditions, pay inequality and institutionalised racism that existed within the sewing industry.
Today, trade unions are made up of a multitude of powerful women. Frances O’Grady was elected as the first female General Secretary of the TUC, an election acknowledged as the end of the “pale, male and stale” traditionalist view of trade unionists.
At Prospect and Bectu, many women occupy senior leadership positions. Eleanor Wade is the President of the Prospect National Executive Committee (NEC), Christine Bond was elected in 2010 as the first female President of Bectu and in 2018, I became the first female Head of Bectu.
Inequality in the creative industries
While senior leadership matters, it is vitally important to have women represented at all levels of trade unions and workplaces. The creative industries is no exception and although representation is increasing, there remains a significant gender imbalance.
In film and TV, women are under-represented both on and off screen. With BFI research from 2017 finding that women count for just 1% of film crews and make up only 30% of credited cast. This year, three female film directors made history by being nominated for the Best Director award at the Golden Globes, just five female directors have been nominated in the previous 77 years.
It is important to ask why women are not represented and though we know that change won’t happen overnight, it is impossible to overlook more troubling reasons. A 2019 Bectu survey found that 50% of women in the creative sector have experienced bullying or harassment at work, with 25% experiencing inappropriate touching, hugging, or kissing.
Fighting for change
Bectu works with many inspirational women and organisations in the fight for change. Bectu’s Women’s Equality Committee works to challenge sexism and discrimination; promote gender equality and equal opportunities and make recommendations on how Bectu can support women in the union and beyond. Outside of Bectu, we work with organisations such as Share my Telly Job, Women in Film and TV and Parents and Carers in Performing Arts, in order to address issues that disproportionately affect women and achieve change in the creative industries.
To celebrate International Women’s Day, Prospect and Bectu are hosting several interactive webinars, open to members and non-members, celebrating the achievements of women. Find further information and resources on our hub page here.
Though women’s representation in our movement in increasing, there is still much to be done. Together, we can empower women, challenge the bias and barriers, and recognise the importance of women in the workplace and beyond.