Women transport workers view the transport industry in a very bad light and among these perceptions are job entry level discrimination, equal pay for equal work not being applied, not having the same access to promotion, discrimination due to marital status or having children, women are more likely to obtain work as casual staff, temps or part-time workers and women in the transport industry cannot exercise full maternity rights.

The ITF is providing various tools to assist representatives by organizing various female gender oriented conferences, an ITF Women’s Network where organizations with similar goals and fighting for the same thing may share information among people in the industry as well as an ITF Women’s Online Discussion Group where members can post messages, chat, plan events and share files.

The ITF has asked each Union to provide a contact person who will monitor all female related industry issues, women’s membership and to report back on trends and triumphs to the ITF. One example is celebrating small victories such as the opening of a women’s toilet at a UK Port which had in the past only catered to men following a campaign launched following an ITF Women’s Conference in August.

The ITF, as well as its affiliated Unions in the transport sector are working towards integrating women in the industry which, even in 2010, still has huge challenges and obstacles to overcome.

The SIU firmly believes in equal pay, equal opportunity, without giving importance to gender. There are however certain issues that are strictly gender related, such as maternity leave, which warrant special consideration. The S.I.U. stands firm on the principle that women temporarily leaving their position for maternity leave, should be and are reinstated to their position upon their return to work. Differentiating between genders for any reason has no place whatsoever in the SIU.