Shaping Union and Gender Identities: A Case Study of Women-Only Trade Union Courses Gill Kirton and Geraldine Healy Abstract In the context of efforts to revitalize unions and the acknowledged need to widen participation within trade unions, this paper argues that women-only trade union education acts as a vehicle for increasing women’s participation and for improv- ing their experiences of unions. Drawing on a qualitative research study of women-only courses in two large male-dominated British trade unions, the find- ings indicate that such courses provide the conditions for women to question, reinforce or transform their social identities and thereby can lead to greater union identification and participation. 1. Introduction This paper focuses on women-only trade union courses as a potential vehicle for increasing the participation of women and for improving women’s experiences of unions. Trade union education is a significant area of trade union activity, but one that is under-researched. (Recent exceptions include Bridgford and Stirling 2000; Greene and Kirton 2002; Holford 1993; Munro and Rainbird 2000a, b.) Bridgford and Stirling suggest that trade union edu- cation is a ‘key resource for the construction of trade unionism’ (2000: 5), while Holford sees union education as a ‘vital catalyst as the movement tries to come to terms with new realities’ (1993: 12). Munro and Rainbird (2000a) argue that trade union education provision encourages a greater identifica- tion with the union and can lead to active participation in union activities, thereby having the potential to strengthen workplace activism. Thus, recent research agrees on the general importance of trade union education. Women-only education is a form of women’s separate organization (Briskin 1993), which became widespread from the late 1970s onwards British Journal of Industrial Relations 42:2 June 2004 0007–1080 pp. 303–323 Gill Kirton is at the Centre for Business Management, Queen Mary, University of London. Geraldine Healy is in the Employment Studies Research Unit, Business School, University of Hertfordshire. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd/London School of Economics 2004. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA.