The Solidarity Center empowers women workers to confront and challenge global systems that subject them to discrimination in the workplace.
The global economy isn’t working for working women. Women make up nearly half of the world’s workforce. Yet women account for close to three-fourths of the world’s population living in poverty. All over the world, women are relegated to low-wage, low-skilled, and dangerous jobs. At the same time, women retain primary responsibility for the care and survival of their families. In the home, at the workplace, and even within union structures, women everywhere face persistent and pervasive discrimination. For worker rights to take hold worldwide, this discrimination must cease.
The Solidarity Center empowers women to fight for their rights and addresses the particular needs of women workers. Through Solidarity Center programs, women are joining and leading unions, advocating for themselves and their families, and standing up for the rights of all workers worldwide. We provide training and foster the leadership skills needed to give women a voice in their unions, in their workplaces, and in the global economy. Tens of thousands of women have participated.
Every year on March 8, Solidarity Center partners and unions around the world commemorate International Women’s Day to honor women’s struggle for justice and equality.
With Basic Education, Women Can Control Their Lives. Abigail Tatenda was just out of college in 1994 when she married Wellington Chibebe, a charismatic young union leader who would go on to become the secretary general of the Zimbabwe Trade Union Congress. During a recent visit to the United States, Abigail Chibebe spoke to the Solidarity Center about her life as a working woman, a high-profile spouse, and a mother.
Solidarity Center Commemorates International Women's Day. On March 8, 2010, Solidarity Center partners and unions around the world commemorate International Women's Day to honor women's struggle for justice and equality. Read the AFL-CIO Executive Council Resolution.
"We Have to Work Together If We Want to Protect Our Rights." Seventy percent of the 60,000 workers in Peru's $300 million per year asparagus export industry are women. Santos Cruz, who works for the Talsa company in Trujillo, La Libertad, is the only female general secretary of an asparagus workers union. At a recent Solidarity Center sponsored training program for union activists in Trujillo, Cruz talked about their struggle.
On May 1, A Call for Domestic Worker Rights. On May 1, 2009, the Solidarity Center adds its voice to the global call for an international convention on domestic worker rights.
U.S. Labor Leader Marks International Women’s Day. To commemorate the annual observance of International Women’s Day, in 2009 AFSCME International Secretary-Treasurer and civil rights leader William Lucy addressed a United Nations panel to mark the progress made by women globally, and to raise awareness of continued violence against women, particularly in the workplace.
Iraqi Women Unionists Join Their Turkish Sisters for Historic International Women's Day. In 2008, for the first time ever, Iraqi women unionists visited Turkey to celebrate International Women’s Day with their Turkish sisters.
Migrant Worker Associations Provide Safety Net for Sri Lankans. Ten years ago, Solidarity Center union partners in Sri Lanka began a process to organize migrant workers and integrate them into a comprehensive economic and social safety net before, during, and after migration.
Nigerian Unions Address Gender Imbalances in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS. Worldwide, nearly 18 million women live with HIV/AIDS. The majority of these women are workers.
When a Dominican Factory Closes Its Doors, We Lose More Than Decent Jobs. Jenny, a single working mother, had lost her job at the BJ&B factory. In 2003, BJ&B was a leading supplier of logo caps to U.S. universities and athletic teams. Jenny was one of 1,600 workers, almost all women, until she was fired for standing up for her right to form a union.
Empowering Women Workers. As increasing poverty forces women into the job market and the global economy opens new job opportunities, the number of working women in the Middle East and North Africa is growing. But despite their importance to their own families' survival and the economic health of their nations, working women face discrimination in society and on the job.
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