Unions and social media: Prospects for gender inclusion

Abstract

The emergence of web 2.0 technologies led to optimistic predictions that social media (SM) might alter traditional gendered patterns of member participation in trade unions. Greene, Hogan, and Grieco and others suggested that the forms of communication and engagement these technologies offered to unions and their members had the potential to foster gender inclusion and contribute to union diversity, arguably central to effective representation. This article reports on a survey of union members’ experiences with and perceptions of their union's SM services, to identify whether there is a gendered dimension to members’ use. The findings indicate that for most union members regardless of gender, more traditional communication channels such as face‐to‐face contact and email remain the preferred means of communication. However, the findings also show that women are just as likely as men, if not more so, to engage with union SM. Given that historically, women largely participated less in union activities than their male counterparts, this broad parity of use by women supports the conclusion that SM has substantial potential to improve women's participation in unions.

Unions, social media and young workers—evidence from the UK

“…The work of Panagiotopoulos () and Panagiotopoulos and Barnett () offers useful insights into the views of union members and officials towards union adoption of social media platforms, suggesting that younger people are more likely to engage with unions on social media and could be recruited online (Panagiotopoulos, : 186). Thornwaite et al () surveyed union members about their experiences with social media to investigate the impact of gender on social media use, and found that women were just as likely, if not more likely, to engage with their union on social media. In their study of online freelancers, Wood et al () found that social media groups played a central role in communication where traditional unions are absent, highlighting the importance of Internet‐based communities for workers.…”

Digital audiences of union organising: A social media analysis

“…First, Greene and Kirton (2003) identify the potential to engage online with ‘atypical’ members. Kerr and Waddington (2013) offer mixed evidence that this is actually happening with women and part‐time workers while Thornthwaite et al ., (2018) found that men and women were engaging with union social media accounts to the same degree and for the same purposes. From the perspective of members, digital skills and familiarity with preferred channels might affect their willingness to interact on social media even irrespective of offline engagement (Panagiotopoulos, 2012).…”

Women’s participation in teacher unions: Implications of a ‘triple burden’ for union gender equality strategies

“…Trade unions, particularly male-dominated unions, have generally been slow to recognise women's lagging under-representation and under-participation (Thornthwaite et al, 2018).…”