We study the role of unions in improving workplaces for women. Starting in 2015, Brazil’s largest trade union federation made women central to its agenda. Using a difference-in-differences design that leverages variation in union affiliation to this federation, we find that “bargaining for women” increased female-friendly amenities in collective bargaining agreements and in practice. These changes led women to queue for jobs at treated establishments and separate from them less—both revealed preference measures of firm value. We find no evidence that gains came at the expense of wages, employment, or firm profits. Better amenities instead reduced turnover and absenteeism, suggesting greater worker satisfaction and effort. Larger improvements occurred where women initially comprised a lower share of workers or union leaders. Our findings show that shifting union priorities toward women improved workplaces without meaningful trade-offs and instead benefited both workers and employers. They illustrate the potential for unions to improve workplace quality by focusing on the needs of less represented workers.

中文翻译：

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女性集体谈判：工会如何创造对女性友好的工作

我们研究了工会在改善女性工作场所方面的作用。从 2015 年开始，巴西最大的工会联合会将女性作为其议程的中心。使用利用工会隶属于该联合会的差异中的差异设计，我们发现“女性讨价还价”在集体谈判协议和实践中增加了对女性友好的便利设施。这些变化导致女性在经过处理的机构排队工作，并且与她们分开的次数减少——两者都揭示了公司价值的偏好衡量标准。我们没有发现任何证据表明收益是以牺牲工资、就业或公司利润为代价的。更好的便利设施反而减少了人员流动率和缺勤率，这表明工人的满意度和努力程度更高。当女性最初在工人或工会领导人中所占的比例较低时，情况发生了更大的改善。我们的研究结果表明，将工会的优先事项转向女性改善了工作场所，而没有进行有意义的权衡，反而使工人和雇主都受益。它们说明了工会通过关注代表性较少的工人的需求来提高工作场所质量的潜力。