Equality & Inclusion

The Solidarity Center supported the development of the Afro-Colombian Labor Council, the first national organization in Colombia dedicated to improving the working conditions of Afro-descendants. Credit: Solidarity Center/Rhett Doumitt

The Solidarity Center engages with unions and their allies through an analysis and practice of equality, radical inclusion and intersectionality that is explicitly feminist, anti-racist, pro-equality, pro-worker, pro-migrant and class conscious.

The Solidarity Center designs and implements strategies to confront the multiple and intersecting forms of oppression that contribute to economic structures in which women and other groups of workers are devalued and excluded from economic and social equality. This requires a conscious effort to examine how oppressive forces play out throughout the global labor movement with a commitment to dismantle these systems. Explicit in this work is the understanding that the agency and leadership of the most marginalized workers are key components of decent work and economic justice for all.

The Solidarity Center has assisted unions and their allies in countries such as Cambodia, Colombia, Georgia, Honduras, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Nigeria, Nicaragua, South Africa and Tunisia to ensure meaningful participation of historically excluded and marginalized workers in unions and other democratic structures.

See related factsheetsvideos and reports.

In Morocco, the Solidarity Center supported a multi-year effort to build women worker power and gender equality which led to the inclusion of women workers during negotiations for the first collective bargaining agreement in the informal agriculture sector. In Colombia, the Solidarity Center supported the development of the first national organization dedicated to improving the working conditions of Afro-Colombians.

In Kyrgyzstan, Morocco and Tunisia, Solidarity Center is assisting in strengthening union efforts to promote inclusion of individuals with disabilities. In Nicaragua, Solidarity Center supports domestic workers as they address inclusion of LGBTQI union members to ensure they can represent themselves, articulate their priorities and increase their leadership opportunities and visibility.

The Solidarity Center:

  • Conducts research and awareness-raising to challenge systems of oppression and inform inclusive approaches to building worker power across social identities at all levels
  • Supports representative, inclusive leadership in our partner organizations
  • Engages in cross-movement work to combat tools of oppression that impact women, including gender-based violence and harassment at work
  • Brings together unions and community groups to identify shared socioeconomic struggles, analyzes how those struggles are linked to systemic racism and implements organizing, legal and advocacy strategies to collectively overcome the oppression that entraps workers in poverty
  • Advocates for economic policies that uproot systemic discrimination and exploitation in labor markets.

Joining to Achieve Goals Key for Migrant Workers in Central Asia

Central Asian workers who migrate for good paying jobs are navigating a rapidly changing environment due to shifts in economic options and political instability. At the same time, a growing number of women and young migrant workers, who face particular...

Labor Lawyers Strategize at ILAW’s Third Global Conference

More than 200 International Lawyers Assisting Workers Network (ILAW) members gathered in Casablanca, Morocco, October 9 to 11 at their 2024 Global Conference to share ideas and to collaborate on legal strategies to promote and defend worker rights. The Solidarity...

Kyrgyzstan: Disability Rights Coalition Expands Jobs App, Reach

With disability rights organization New Age foundation, the Solidarity Center supported the re-launch of job search mobile phone app, "Ten Ishte" for people with disabilities in Kyrgyzstan. The app, which translated means "Equal Work," was previously informational but...
Joining to Achieve Goals Key for Migrant Workers in Central Asia

Joining to Achieve Goals Key for Migrant Workers in Central Asia

Central Asian workers who migrate for good paying jobs are navigating a rapidly changing environment due to shifts in economic options and political instability. At the same time, a growing number of women and young migrant workers, who face particular...

Labor Lawyers Strategize at ILAW’s Third Global Conference

Labor Lawyers Strategize at ILAW’s Third Global Conference

More than 200 International Lawyers Assisting Workers Network (ILAW) members gathered in Casablanca, Morocco, October 9 to 11 at their 2024 Global Conference to share ideas and to collaborate on legal strategies to promote and defend worker rights. The Solidarity...

Kyrgyzstan: Disability Rights Coalition Expands Jobs App, Reach

Kyrgyzstan: Disability Rights Coalition Expands Jobs App, Reach

With disability rights organization New Age foundation, the Solidarity Center supported the re-launch of job search mobile phone app, "Ten Ishte" for people with disabilities in Kyrgyzstan. The app, which translated means "Equal Work," was previously informational but...

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