Women in the frontline of trade unionism
Filipino women were active in the trade union movement during the pre-war years despite their double burden and stereotype roles as mothers and nurturers, according to a research of a professor, Dr. Judy Taguiwalo, from the Department of Women and Development Studies of the UP College of Social Work and Community Development (CSWCD) in Diliman, Quezon City who presented her doctoral dissertation, “Babae, Obrera, Unyonista: Ang Kilusang Kababaihan sa Maynila, 1901-1941”, at a forum last Aug. 16 at the UP CSWCD audio visual room.
The dissertation is a contribution to ending the invisibility of women workers in the history of the women’s movement and the labor movement during the American colonial period.
“Women were active in the struggle of trade unions for higher wages, more benefits, shorter working hours, humane working conditions, the right to organize and to hold a strike,” said Dr. Taguiwalo who is also the national president of the All-UP Academic Employees Union and the chair of the Women’s Committee of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers.
The labor movement during the period raised the issues of women such as equal pay for equal work, maternity leave benefits, the demand for day care in the workplace, among others. However, although there were prominent women trade union leaders like Pilar Lazaro and Narcisa Paguibitan who emerged during the pre-war years, working women’s participation in leadership positions was generally limited as the labor movement itself was unable to take steps to address the feudal-patriarchal view that relegated women as primarily mothers and homemakers, according to Dr. Taguiwalo.
The dissertation sharing was organized by the DWDS class on feminist organizing (WD 221) and the DWDS as part of the week-long celebration of CSWCD 40th anniversary. — LUCIA PALPAL-LATOC-TANGI, Journalism Dept.,
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