Join us for IWPR’s 2026 Power+ Summit, The Power Grid: Driving Gender Equity Forward, taking place September 28–29 in Detroit, MI.
Together, we will spark bold ideas, share breakthroughs, and shape the future of gender equity.
At a time when union membership has been declining overall, a new report by IWPR, “What Do Unions Do For Women?” shows that the number of women who are unions members has continued to increase. As a result, women are currently 37 percent of organized labor membership– a higher percentage than at any time in the US labor movement’s history. Thus the face of unionism in the US is changing, even though much of the research on unions continues to focus on men. IWPR research shows that union membership for women because membership or coverage under a collective bargaining agreement is associated with higher wages and job tenure, as well as a smaller pay gap between women and men.