Elin Gustafsson, newly elected board member of the Swedish Electricians' and BWI's general secretary Ambet Yuson.
At their congress the Swedish Electricians’ Union today voted in Elin Gustafsson Fagerlind as the first woman ever to sit in the board of the union.
As little as two per cent of all Electricians’ are women. Widespread discrimination, sexual harassments and lack of separate locker rooms scare young women away from entering the trade – despite good job opportunities and relatively high salaries.
The union must engage more women to become active, and support young women who wants to enter into the profession, says Elin Gustafsson Fagerlind in an interview for the union publication. Most importantly however, the sexist and misogynist way that men talk at work need to stop.
“The employers need to take their responsibility to improve the situation. They need to educate themselves,” she says.