Brief
History
The onset of the 1960s marked the recognition
by the FFW of the need to include women in its ranks. Hence, the
creation of the FFW Women's Council composed of active women trade
union members who, in 1972, spearheaded the formation of the National
Council for Women Affairs.
In 1985, the two-week Conference on the "Promotion
of Filipino Women and Women Workers" which brought together
women trade union members from all over the country resulted with
the women's organization, Samahan ng mga Kababaihang Manggagawa
ng Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao (SAMAKA-LUZVIMINDA).
That same year, the women's group of FFW was ably
represented at the WCL Symposium on the "Condition of Women
Workers."
In 1986, a conference brought together a number
of active women leaders who initiated the passing of a resolution
to revitalize and strengthen the women's group. This spurred succeeding
symposia and consultation meetings to intensify the mobilization
and consolidation of women workers.
Three years later, an Ad Hoc Women's Council was
organized with seven committees: Organization, Education, Research
and Publication, Political Affairs, Social Welfare, Sports and
Culture, and Finance.
March 1994 proved momentous as the realization
of the FFW Women Conference pooled the various women's groups
into a national organization called the FFW Women's Network (FWN).
Seven years
and still counting - The FFW Women's Network (FWN) remains committed
in its vision to fully integrate women workers and community women
into the mainstream of development processes and realize their
eventual active and equal participation with men in leadership
and policy and decision-making processes within and outside trade
unions.
To date, the Network has culminated the implementation
of its 1998-2000 FWN-CNV Capability-Building and Enhancement Programme
for Women Empowerment that served as an essential follow-through
and support training programme for the beneficiaries of the concluded
1995-1997 FFW-CNV-DGIS Women Education Programme and Women Organizations'
Institution-Building Support Structures.
The adequate
support of its funding partner, the CNV-Actie Kom Over (CNV-AKO),
on the said Programme's empowerment through education and training
component has intensified the Network's initiatives on the following
thrusts: gender equality consciousness and socio-economic awareness,
opportunities/initiatives for socio-economic empowerment and advocacy
and networking with GOs, NGOs and like-minded organizations.
