The Royal Commission and Unions: Leadership, Equality, Women’s Organizing, and Collective Agency

A close reading of the report of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada (RCSW 1970) makes visible its views on women’s organizing for social justice and strategies to this end. These issues have garnered little attention, but as this chapter shows, the report comments on the role of unions in Canada, the importance of demographic representation of women in positions of power, the lobbying work of professional women’s organizations, and the advocacy of the emerging community-based women’s movement. My focus is on the fndings of the RCSW ( 1970 ) on women and unions, and on union women’s organizing in recent decades. This examination is framed by four proposals for elaborating new feminist paradigms to promote justice for women. --Introduction