This article seeks to add discussion of the intersection of gender and ethnicity to the debates on individualism and collectivism. In doing so, it challenges the prevailing view, in these debates, of the rise of individualism and the decline in collectivism. Through a study of black and minority ethnic women trade unionists, it shows how a differentiated workforce, rather than leading to individualism at work, may contribute to union renewal and inspire more creative forms of collectivism.The distinction between individualism and collectivism has come to form one of the key axes along which debates on industrial relations have been conducted and discussion on their balance has been wide-ranging and contested (Kessler and Purcell, 2003). Trade unions have long been seen as a main site for the development of collective values and a rise in individualism has often been linked to a decline in trade union membership and social power (Pakulski and Waters, 1996;Willis, 1990). It has been argued that trade unions themselves have responded to socioeconomic changes by changing their policies and style to focus more on individual members in response to the individualisation of the employment relationship.The debates in industrial relations are set against sociological theses asserting broad sweeps of individualisation as part of the development of modernist and capitalist societies (Beck, 1992;Giddens, 1990;Valkenburg, 1995). Against this contested backdrop, the article aims to illuminate the complex nature of individualism and collectivism by exploring the intersection of gender and ethnicity in trade unions and thereby challenge thinking on individualism and collectivism that is framed in a dichotomous, unidirectional and imprecise way.The article will revisit the debates on individualism and collectivism, with particular emphasis on the differentiation of the workforce. After discussing our fieldwork, we shall focus on three issues, which show how the intersection of gender and ethnicity can illuminate debates on collectivism. We discuss solidaristic collectivism (exploring the routes to and the experience of solidarism); instrumental collectivism; and the limits to collectivism. Whilst we distinguish analytically between these two types of collectivism, in practice they overlap and interrelate.

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If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.Abstract The influence of trade unions and the cross-cutting of gender and ethnicity on career development is a neglected area of study. By drawing on research in four UK trade unions, this paper engages with the career impact of unions on black and minority ethnic women trade union activists. In particular, it explores the career impact of three key areas of analysis: the gendered and ethnicised order, union networks and the career indeterminacy of union women. The experience of the women in our study demonstrated how careers are constrained by a complex set of racist and gendered forms. Union networks are shown to be an important arena for union involvement and personal development. Such networks facilitate the development of personal resources to challenge injustice in the workplace but they also provide a range of knowledge and skills that provide greater degrees of freedom in the way that an individual's career may unfold.