ONE-hundred-and-fifty years ago this year in Glasgow, Emma Paterson and Edith Simcox were the first women delegates to attend the Trades Union Congress. Paterson continued to attend regularly as a delegate until her death. She also founded what was to become the Women’s Trade Union League, whose aim was to establish a union in every trade in which women worked.

In 1888, Clementina Black, the secretary of the Women’s Protective and Provident League (later the Women’s Trade Union League) moved the first successful motion on equal pay for equal work. This motion laid the foundations for the laws on equal pay which govern us today.

Women have been instrumental in trade union struggles from the start and yet too often our contributions are invisible or overlooked. Now, women make up the majority of today’s movement. We number 3.7 million members (58 per cent) compared to 2.7 million men, yet women are under-represented in trade union officer and rep roles and in activist structures. We should not be having to fight for proper representation within a movement where we already make up the bulk of membership.

Women generally make up over 50 per cent of delegates and speakers at TUC Congress but men tend to dominate the big, headline-grabbing debates on industrial and political issues. This means women’s voices and experiences are often absent in such debates despite being at the brunt of related issues.

TUC women’s conference democratically selects one motion to be taken to TUC Congress each year which ensures that at least one motion at TUC conference prioritises the struggles women face. It was a motion brought by the women’s conference to Congress that instigated the TUC work plan to tackle sexual harassment across the trade union movement. This year, the black workers conference motion to TUC conference addresses racialised sexual harassment and misogynoir.

Sometimes it is the smaller unions with predominantly female membership that table motions to TUC Congress which are focused on women’s rights. For example, this year the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) has submitted a motion on Challenging misogyny, misogyny and anti feminism of the far right and the motion from the Royal College of Midwives addresses inequality in maternity care.

Without motions like these, issues of specific concern to women would be missing from the agenda. But we also need all unions to make explicit the ways in which general issues impact on women who are at the hard edge of discrimination and oppression.

Many unions recognise the inequality women face and have acted to support women into activity and leadership. They have produced excellent resources and advice and are instrumental in supporting women to challenge unfairness at work. But we need more.

Women are not apathetic or disinterested. All over the UK, we are active in our communities on a wide range of social and political questions. The trade union movement should be working harder to harness this energy and expertise to improve workplace rights and political policy. Trade unions exist to make the world of work better for everyone and to promote solidarity and equality across society. We cannot do this without supporting women or acknowledging the reality of women’s lives. We must remove any obstacles to union activity and address any discrimination or harassment which deters women from involvement in our movement.

FiLiA is a feminist charity with global reach and a successful track record of building women’s activism within the UK. It has deep roots in local communities and its recently established Women’s Assembly is working to ensure that women’s voices are heard by politicians and policy makers. The Assembly recently worked with women in different regions to formulate a response to the government’s welfare proposals consultation. It is also bringing women together in solidarity to participate and lead in successful campaigns on the issues that matter to them.

Another recent FiLiA initiative is the establishment of its Trade Union Women’s Network which I am helping to co-ordinate. This network will connect women within trade unions and across TUC regions, supporting women to organise locally and nationally. We are developing resources and information to build knowledge and confidence so that women can navigate union structures successfully.

We want women to take our rightful place in trade unions and the labour movement. We want to increase women’s membership, power and agency. We think this is what the movement wants too.

In a month’s time, FiLiA will be holding its 10th Women’s Rights Conference in Brighton. We are expecting more than 2,000 women to attend. They will choose from 105 sessions and hear 249 speakers/facilitators from 58 different countries. Solidarity in the FiLiA space is electric and women always leave inspired to make change. We go back to our communities and we organise. We feel like valued members of a powerful network.

Just like we want women to feel about the trade union movement.

The TUC has the power and the policy to make unions work better for women. It’s time we redoubled our efforts to remove the barriers that women face. It’s time we listened harder and acted more effectively.

But it’s also about maximising what women bring to this movement and making sure we see it as our political home. Think how powerful this would make our movement and the positive changes we could make for all our members. Emma Paterson and Clementina Black would approve.

Philipa Harvey is a member of the FiLiA TU Women’s Network. She was a member of the TUC general council and chair of the TUC women’s committee. FiLiA is holding a fringe meeting for women trade unionists at 6pm on Tuesday September 9 in Brighton. For more information please contact tuwomen@filia.org.uk.