Public and Commercial Services Union

PCS has a policy that all branches should constitute a women's advisory committee.

This is not because the union believes in committees for their own sake, but because a branch women's advisory committee is a useful way of involving women in the union at workplace level.

Why do we need a branch women's advisory committee?

A committee also provides the branch executive committee (BEC) with valuable input into policies and negotiations on issues that are important to women members, eg childcare, maternity leave, etc.

Branches have, over the years, experienced varying success in establishing BWACs.

This guidance is designed to help those branches currently without a BWAC to set one up, and to give fresh ideas and impetus to those branches where the BWAC is perhaps less active than before.

It is important to stress at the outset that the objectives of the BWAC should not be swamped by bureaucracy. Of course, there must be accountability and there must be a clear link to the BEC but the fundamental objective of involving women in union activity and making such activity enjoyable should not be lost sight of amidst more trivial details such as constitutional niceties and who takes the minutes.

How does a branch establish a BWAC?

Normally, discussion will take place among women members about the need for a committee.

The branch can then call a meeting or several meetings of women members at which elections can take place. Alternatively, a circular could be issued calling for nominations and/or volunteers from which members of the committee may be appointed.

Some branches have found it more practical for women BEC members to coopt interested women members to form a committee and some have held elections at local meetings based on stewards' constituencies and restricted the voting to women members only.

What does a branch women's advisory committee do?

In general terms, the committee should:

• Advise the BEC on matters which particular affect women members
• Consider proposals of concern to women from management
• Monitor the effectiveness of equal opportunity programmes in the workplace
• Liaise with group women's advisory and equality committees
• Assist the branch to recruit women locally and monitor women's recruitment levels
• Encourage women's participation in PCS activities
• Encourage women to stand for the BEC and other positions in the union, at group and national level
• Encourage women's applications to education courses
• Talk to women in the branch to assess their concerns/priorities
• Have fun

How does the BWAC establish its programme of work?

The BWAC is responsible for setting its own programme of work, based on an assessment of the concerns of women in the branch.

Some BWACs have felt that the best way to do this is to send out a questionnaire to all women members and ask them to identify what their priorities and opinions are. Such a method also provides a further opportunity for women to put themselves forward for membership of BWAC.

Listed below are some suggestions of ways to encourage the participation of women in branch activity.

Lunchtime meetings

Meetings can be organised for women to express their views about what the union is or isn't, could or should be doing.

Open-ended questions such as "what do you think of your union?" or "what should your union be doing for you?" should have the effect of attracting all shades of opinion and debate.

Such discussions provide the perfect opportunity for union activists not only to listen to what women are saying, but also to present the gains the union has made in such areas as childcare, part-time workers' provisions, paternity, maternity and family leave.

Single-issue meetings

Women who may otherwise steer clear of formal union meetings, may be interested in attending meetings on particular issues of concern and these issues may well be identified by means of the questionnaire mentioned earlier.

Consideration should also be given on occasions to holding meetings on topics other than the normal policy issues. Issues such as health, the arts, sexuality, etc can produce lively and interesting meetings and be just as effective in generating interest and involvement in the Union and its work.

Newsletters

Does your branch issue a membership newsletter? If so, the BWAC may want to raise its profile by having a regular page or pages to inform members of its existence and activities. Depending on the energies and resources of Committee members, the BWAC may want to produce its own newsletter on a regular basis.

How do we make the branch more appealing to women?

Branch meetings need to be "user-friendly" and with this in mind, attention needs to be paid to the following points:

• Make sure that the timing of meetings is suitable for part-timers and those with domestic responsibilities. It is best to advertise both the start and finish time of the meeting and stick to those
• Avoid long meetings and try to ensure that no one person dominates the meeting
• Avoid the use of jargon, abbreviations, sexist, racist, patronising language. Explain meeting procedures clearly
• Make everyone feel welcome and don't belittle anyone's contribution
• Where childcare is provided, advertise this, or where it is not, advertise the fact that excess carer expenses can be refunded by the branch
• The venue should be a safe, comfortable and welcoming place; pubs may not be suitable for all women

Conclusions

Branch women's advisory committees play an important part in involving women in the work of the union.

We hope that this guidance will be widely discussed by branches who have yet to establish a BWAC, as well as those who have succeeded in setting one up but are perhaps lacking impetus.

We urge you to discuss the measures outlined in this leaflet and implement the ideas and suggestions contained within it wherever appropriate.