Recognising and addressing some of the challenges faced by women working in male dominated industries and occupations is critical to the work of the Union.
For this reason we are involved in a number of projects to support our Women members.
Moving Women into Forestry Project
The project, ‘Moving Women into Forestry’ provided a valuable opportunity to meet with women in two of the seven sectors representing the forest, wood, paper and timber products industry (in sawmilling and processing and wood panel/board production and manufacturing).
During the course of the project, the women spoke about what opportunities exist to encourage more women into the industry –‘why it’s a good place to be’, as well as what barriers result in their current low level of participation in the industry. The project priority was to meet with women working in the industry rather than complete a desktop analysis or a review of quantitative information.
All of the meetings were conducted in regional areas where the forestry industry is a significant employer. The interviews with the women were predominantly in production environments. Around 145 women participated in the project and 124 surveys were completed. The women were predominantly over 40 years of age (54 per cent) and long term employees (76 per cent have been working in the sector for more than seven years).
Of the women who participated in meetings or who were interviewed, they commonly expressed their:
• respect for their work and the job they did
• recognition of the skills they now held and the importance of theses skills to job satisfaction
• importance to the community in what they do
• pride in being associated with the industry
• thanks for being asked to be involved in this project.
If there is a goal to retain and support more women, then industry will need a range of strategies to manage workforce development, recruitment, job opportunities, known pathways and the skill development of women. These strategies are essential in workplaces where there are community stereotypes and a minority group, in this case women. Their concerns and issues, choices and decisions are often secondary to the more dominant male employee and workplace milieu.
Best practices found in the study included workplaces where women are supported in their roles and many have participated in and accessed the skills and jobs that they wish to pursue. More commonly this was due to the women developing their own strategies and with resilience and determination, pursuing the jobs and skills in which to develop satisfaction within their workplace.
To download the full report, click on the link on the right hand side of the page.
For Case Studies and further information click on the second link on the right hand side of the page to visit the ForestWorks website.
Women’s participation in the industry
The high proportion of male workers (82.9%) greatly exceeds the national average of 54%. There has been little change in the composition of the industry with the ratio of male to female workers changing less than 1% in the ten year period 1996 – 2006 (source: unpublished BRS/ABS data; ForestWorks Survey).
Women in Male Dominated Occupations and Industries (WIMDOI)
The Women in Male Dominated Occupations and Industries Conferencewas established in 1993 coordinated through the ACTU Women's Committee to bring together and raise awarenes of women working male dominated industries and provide an avenue for these women to share experiences and knowledge and address particular issues that affect them.
National WIMDOI Conferences have been conducted every two years since that time (2007 Conference delayed due to Divisional restructuring) and is widely recognised as an important and unique affrimative action initiative for women workers in male dominated occupations and industries in Australia.
The CFMEU FFPD in conjunction with the WIMDOI Organising Committee seized the initiative to facilitate and promote WIMDOI in 2001, which was a huge success. Since that time the CFMEU FFPD has continued to recognise the importance of WIMDOI.
Women have been an important part of the trade union movement since its inception in Australia with 40 per cent of unionised workers being women. It is imperative to ensure that women continue to be members and activists in their union.
The benefits derived from WIMDOI are numerous, below is a snapshot of these benefits:
- Unions utilise the forum to educate and inform women members on various issues such as OH&S, industrial matters and superannuation etc
- Unions utilise the forum to be informed and active on issues and barriers facing women members
- Unions can tap into a national womens network
- Renewed emphasis on the need for workers and particularly women workers to be members and active participants in their unions
- Recruitment, retention and mapping in the workplace initiatives can be developed
- The development of empowered and enlightened activists
The Anna Stewart Memorial Project
What is the Anna Stewart Memorial Project?
The aim of the Anna Stewart Memorial Project is to increase women's involvement in the union movement through training. The project has been in existence since 1984.
During the two week project women trade union members from diverse workplaces and occupations are placed with their own, and sometimes with another union. They experience the full range of union work, including mass meetings, enterprise bargaining negotiations and hearings in the Industrial Relations Commission. All participants meet for three full days and one half day during the project to discuss women, work and union issues. They are generally sponsored by unions and there is no charge for attending the course.
Project Objectives
- To provide a fitting memorial to a leading trade unionist.
- To facilitate the greater involvement of women in the trade union movement and to encourage women to stand for office or to seek jobs within trade unions.
- To encourage the integration of women into union structures by increasing the opportunity for involvement in those structures, thereby seeking to overcome the sense of alienation often experienced by female members.
- To promote greater awareness within unions of the particular needs of female members and the important contribution women can make to the development and growth of unions.
- To promote women's understanding of the day to day operations of individual unions and to further their knowledge of collective activities of groups of unions and State and National Peak Councils.
- To facilitate a greater understanding of the industrial issues confronting women in both blue and white collar occupations with a view to bridging the gaps which often exists between workers in these areas.
