Women's Institute for Leadership Development

CONTACT:

33 Harrison Ave, 4th Floor
Boston, MA 02111
617-426-0520
www.wildlabor.org

Emily Hardt, Program and Office Coordinator

DESCRIPTION:

Women labor activists and educators founded the Women's Institute for Leadership and Development (WILD) in 1986 as a multiracial, multicultural organization focused on training more, and more diverse, women leaders in the workplace and in the labor movement here in Massachusetts. WILD seeks to build a democratic, inclusive and anti-racist labor movement that will address the concerns of poor and workingwomen, and confront economic injustice.

Women make up a significant portion of unions today. Although union membership has been declining in the past two decades and now stands at just 15 percent of the work force, the women's portion of unions has gone from 20 percent in 1960 to 42 percent today. The union's impact on women's lives can be significant. A unionized woman earns 31 percent more than her nonunion counterpart and is more likely to have benefits such as health insurance, paid sick time and a retirement plan.

WILD's programs include a Summer Institute, where a diverse group of 150 women gather for a weekend of leadership development, and "WILD in the Winter," where participants meet to strategize on major issues. WILD is seeking support to expand its programs, and hire support staff.

(2001: HUMAN SERVICES: Girls and Women: General)