Women employed by the private sector, likely to be in low-paid, part-time or precarious work, are those most in need of trade union protection — so why are so many leaving?

If the most oppressed half of the population are leaving trade unions surely this is a red flag that must be taken seriously by the entire labour and trade union movement?

Questions should be raised around these figures to ensure that working women are not reaching conclusions that unions are irrelevant, unimportant or are disinterested in their rights.

We should not permit this staggering rate of women leavers to be brushed under the carpet.

Thorough consultation on women’s experiences as officers, representatives and members of trade unions must be undertaken as a matter of urgency before we lose even greater numbers of female activists and members.  

Those of us who have experience organising in unions will be aware that workers join and stay in unions when they see that issues being highlighted are relatable to them, speak to their needs and when they are encouraged to be involved in workplace campaigns and in the wider structures of their unions.

They will stay in unions that deal with the real issues facing them in life and in the workplace.

In this period of increased poverty and workplace repression, women and girls have little time any more for tokenism.

Whatever the reasons for women leaving unions, there are issues women face that few are willing to address.

It is on record that unions have faced public criticism for the bullying and sexual harassment of female activists.

It is therefore of concern that the trade union movement is now signalling to women that sexual harassment is no longer a specific concern for women.

Women are being given the message that sexual harassment, a relatable issue for most women, “affects everyone.” This has served to water down the concerns and voices of women.

It remains the case that women are far more likely to be sexually harassed by men, but the rising violence against women and girls is being hidden in the rush to turn sexual harassment into an “everyman” issue.

Of course, men sometimes face sexual harassment and violence but it is a grotesque misrepresentation of the lives of most women and girls to even suggest there is any kind of equivalence.

Every three days a woman is killed by a man in this country, and this is the most extreme manifestation of the spectrum of violence women have experienced throughout the history of class society.

According to figures from Rape Crisis England and Wales, one in four women have been raped, sexually assaulted and abused — quite a considerable number given that women constitute 50 per cent of the population.

Issues like the pay and pension penalties that working mothers experience, the lack of affordable childcare and the denial of flexible working patterns should be central to trade union campaigning.

Women are denied flexible working with alarming regularity because the law is particularly weak in this area, and the costs of childcare are so extortionate that some mothers are forced to drop out of the workforce.

Unions need to push far harder on making bigger gains and advances in these areas. If unions fail to make these issues a top priority, women will not only leave trade unions, but they will continue to be paid less than men, be more likely to be relegated to the “working poor” and forced to work beyond retirement to make ends meet.

From when we are young, women are told by society to conform and to keep our mouths shut; the trade union movement at its best has always said the opposite.

But there is a disturbing trend over the past few years centred on telling women they have no right to raise issues of concern on questions of sex and gender equality. This is self-defeating for our movement and there must be open, honest discussion on all issues of concern for women.

It is almost beyond belief that the Tories and the right-wing Establishment seek to take the moral high ground on the question of free speech.

It is impossible to overemphasise the dangers that this will have for our movement and our class in general. If we are to build a united front in opposition to the Tories, it will have to be based on the most open, democratic debate, nothing else will do.

The struggle of women should be central to the struggle for the liberation of the working class, and it should not just be handed over to Tories who will cut and privatise services like the NHS that women rely on the most.

In this period of the most intensified and brutal attacks on the working class, women should be joining trade unions in their hundreds of thousands — not leaving them.

Helen O’Connor is a trade union organiser and former nurse. Follow her on Twitter @HelenOConnorNHS.