'Standing on the shoulders of giants'

On International Women’s Day, Unite members mark the day with action.  

Unite Northeast Humberside and Yorkshire (NEYH) region embodied this spirit of action perfectly, as they hosted a development day for women members on the eve of International Women’s Day on Friday (March 7).

Members flocked from across the region to attend the packed event to learn from one another about their shared workplace struggles and triumphs.

Unite NEYH regional secretary Karen Reay (pictured below) galvanised attendees with a barnstorming opening speech.

“Women can get to the top – but it is hard; there is still a glass ceiling,” she said. “But it’s only because of women like yourselves in this room that that glass ceiling will continue to be broken. I’ve always believed that as a woman, that when you climb up that ladder, you don’t pull the ladder up; you don’t just leave it there, either. You put your hand down and help other women up. That’s what we need to do.”

Karen played a video of American poet and activist Maya Angelou reciting one of her most famous poems “Still I Rise”, adding that the poem “gets to the roots of women’s struggle” as she urged attendees to “look at the positives” and how “we can all still rise”.

Three separate workshops were held in the morning, including one on legal updates relevant to women by Thompson’s Solicitors; another on organising against sexual harassment in the workplace led by Unite regional women’s officer Heather Blakey; and another workshop on women’s health and safety, hosted by Janet Newsham of the Hazards Group.

In the health and safety workshop, Janet (pictured below) gave a presentation on the stark health and safety inequalities women in the workplace face.

  “Women’s health and safety is invisible,” Janet highlighted, noting that it is not treated like men’s health and safety, which is viewed as the default. She explained how health studies are disproportionately conducted using male participants and the implications this has for women, whose biology is inherently different.

The workshop later broke into groups, with women from across sectors swapping stories and learning that they face so many of the same health and safety struggles – lack of access to clean and private toilet facilities, ill-fitting personal protective equipment (PPE) and employers failing to make reasonable adjustments for women who are, for example, menopausal or pregnant.

In the afternoon, participants attended a further discussion session, where women considered the barriers and opportunities for women within the union itself.

Later in the day, Unite members heard from women leaders of the American union United Steelworkers (USW) who tuned in via Zoom.

USW women of steel director Randie Pearson and USW district one assistant director Teresa Cassady highlighted the shocking and rapid erosion of women’s and trade union rights under the latest Trump administration.

“Things are changing so quickly that it’s hard for us to keep up,” Teresa (pictured below) noted as she explained that many of the US government agencies dealing with trade unions effectively no longer function.

Randie said that the Trump leadership’s tactics “are meant to keep us chasing our tail trying to figure out where our labour rights stand in this country – and it’s a scary thing”.

Both Randie and Teresa spoke of the sinister violation of human rights under the Trump administration’s immigration policies, with even schools and churches no longer being safe havens from arbitrary immigration raids.

Randie went on to highlight the erosion of women’s rights, which began under the first Trump administration and escalated with the overturning of Roe v Wade, the US Supreme Court case which legalised abortion.

Unite women members attending the development day hailed the event.

Unite member Georgina said, “It’s fantastic to be part of a bigger group on International Women’s Day, to hear what women have to say about their workplaces, and what they’re doing to improve things for women in their sectors and industries.”

Unite member Kerry likewise praised the development day.

“It’s been a very positive day, and that optimism from all the people attending has inspired me to look into becoming a workplace rep,” she said. “I wasn’t sure about the idea at first, but the day has really motivated me to pursue it. It’s been a total revelation hearing what other women have gone through and what they’re doing to fight for others in the workplace.”

Earlier in the day, during the lunch break, participants took part in a photo op, wearing the various ‘hats’ that women must wear, whether work-related or reflecting the unpaid labour they all-too often do in the home, too (pictured in main image). It captured the diversity of women in the workplace and the shared struggles they all face.

Unite regional women’s officer Heather Blakey (pictured above) praised the togetherness that was the hallmark of the International Women’s Day event.  

 “The power that they have together is the thing that gives me hope when things seem quite dark. Bringing women together [like we have] makes me believe we can change things. There are so many ideas that they have that I know they’ll take back into their workplaces, they’ll take back into their communities, and they’ll bring back into Unite. We can make a difference. That’s what International Women’s Day is all about – we’re standing on the shoulders of giants.”

You can find out more about women in Unite, and how you can get involved, on our website here.

By Hajera Blagg

Photos by Mark Harvey