Analysing the role of union instrumentality in women’s participation in trade unions: A study of Indian manufacturing sector

Number of women in formal employment in India is significantly lower than that of men, and few women join and participate actively in trade unions in India. This paper attempts to study the factors influencing participation of women workers in unions in India. It is based on the assumption by Klandermans (1984) that the willingness to participate in an activity is the weighted sum of goal motives, social motives and reward motives. Goal and reward motives of participating in union may be related to union instrumentality, whereas social motives may be linked to approval for union participation from family, colleagues and employer. Willingness to participate is the weighted sum of these motives. Convenience in participating in union-related activities is another determinant of union participation. We propose that union instrumentality moderates the relationship of women’s participation in trade unions with approval and convenience as independent variables. Women’s participation in trade unions was measured with four indices of worker participation in union activities from the scale originally used by Chacko (1985) and a self-developed item. Convenience and approval were measured by five-item and four-item self-developed Likert-type scales respectively. The construct of union instrumentality has been evaluated by using a seven-item Likert-type scale with items derived from union instrumentality questionnaires available in literature.Data from a sample of 214 women workers of 8 manufacturing units across 5 public sector organisations was subject to hierarchical regression analysis. Findings lend support to the moderating effect of union instrumentality. Our study sheds light on the nature of relationship of convenience of women workers and approval of their family, peers and employer on their participation in trade unions, and shows a positive relationship between these constructs. The findings add to existing literature that examines the antecedents of workers’ participation in trade unions, especially in context of women. Moreover, our research has illustrated union instrumentality as a moderator in the relationship of convenience and approval with participation in trade unions. We may hence deduce that women workers who have convenience as well as approval from their peers, employers and family members are more likely to participate positively in union-related activities.