ABSTRACT
Unionization is one of the important tools for increasing the participation of women in employment and creating a more egalitarian society by overcoming discriminations based on gender in work life. However, women’s relation with unions, which are patriarchal structures, has always been limited. Because, unions are not viewed as organizations that will fight for the demands and interests of working class women, just as much as those of working class men. Today, unionization rates for women are much lower than they are for men. Moreover, it is possible to say that women face discriminative practices in unions the most on administrative levels, where power and authority relations are more visible. Whereas increasing the presence of women on membership and executive levels of the unions would motivate other women to join unions and put an end to the patriarchy in unions, change the idea that “unionism is for men” and contribute to establishing a more equal work life and social structure. But how aware are unionist women of this circumstance? How do they define unionism and what do they think about their position in unions? This study aims to reveal the relation the unionist women build with unions. It is thought that the opinion of women on unionism and gender will affect their commitment towards union activities and participation, thus affect women’s struggles and existence in unions. In order to provide data for the research, the semi-structured interview technique was used to interview unionist women face to face. Since the perception of gender equality differs as well for female unionists, whose ideological differences are determinant for them, it is seen that women’s relation with the unions, their perception of unionism, their opinions on the way union activities are run and their aims in unionism are quite different from one another.