Trade unionism was born male-centred and revealing a sexist attitude on the role of women in society, about their integration in the labour market and in the unions. This attitude soon became dominant and led the union strategies towards women for a long time. They aimed to exclude them from the labour market or at least accepting their work as transitory and confined to certain branches with lower wages. Despite the mixed associations created in the beginning, these acts of discrimination against women led them to form their own unions, which were maintained active in the United Kingdom even after the 1st World War. Exclusively feminine organizations were likewise created in France, both in CGT, albeit of short duration, and in CFTC, where these lasted until the Nazi occupation. Other experiences remained active until very recently, as is the case of the Danish KAD, founded in 1901. It is what Briskin (1998) called "a separatist strategy". With the increasing integration of women in the labour market, union’s strategies shifted from a logic of exclusion to an organisation one. New structures were born to accommodate them. However, although the growth in absolute and relative numbers of women in the unions, their participation in these organisations remains less intense and there is not a corresponding increase in their proportion in the decision-making bodies, with unions rarely providing adequate representation (Cook et al., 1992; Curtin, 1997; Garcia, 1993, 1999; Garcia et al., 2003; Trebilcock, 1991). For Le Quentrec et al. (1999), this is a socially constructed situation, whereas for Healy and Kirton the explanation lies in the unions, which will constitute "male oligarchies" (Healy and Kirton, 2000). For their part, Chaison and Andiappan (1987) argue that it was the sexual division of labour that led to a segregation that restricted the visibility and influence of women in the movement. “Women militancy”, traditionally much less intense, because of social, economic and cultural obstacles was shrouded in silence for a very long time, and it was necessary to wait for the last thirty years in order to perceive the substantial increase in scientific research that is being developed in this domain. This silence also occurs in Portugal. Women are completely absent from the works that analyse the trade unions and the trade union activists at the dawn of the 20th century. This paper, comprises a first step into bringing out of the shadows the union militancy of Portuguese women throughout that historical period. It also aims to contribute to the study of the underrepresentation that is the norm nowadays. The paper is based in a documentary analysis, including the processes of the unions that emerged in the beginning of the 20th century and, for the present time, the biographical profiles of the board members of the Portuguese unions with jurisdiction in the public administration, as well as of other documents, such as the social reports of some public services.

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Trade unions,women,underrepresentation,Portugal