Women and participation in trade union in Nigeria: A paradigm shift

The paper examined the participation of women in Trade Union in Nigeria. The main argument is that rather than attribute the low participation of women in Trade Union on biological, cultural, economic and educational factors, Trade Union and indeed women should be held responsible. The paper relied on secondary sources of data and adopted structural functionalism as an analytical construct which presupposes the fact that the structures (parts) that make up a system perform specific functions for the adaptation, stability and sustenance of the system. The paper notes that the anti-democratic posture of trade union and indeed the passive and incompatible attitude among women are responsible for their low participation in Trade Union. The paper recommends among other strategies that women should embark on intensive and extensive awareness campaign and see themselves as formidable and indispensable force to be reckoned with not only in trade union but also in the socio-eco- political landscape of Nigeria.