Globally, labor unions have been criticized for being highly gendered, patriarchal organizations that struggle to engage with, and represent, women. In Cambodia, the disparity between women’s activism and organizational power is particularly acute. Women workers are the face of the labor movement, yet they remain excluded from union leadership despite some movement toward more progressive gender policies within unions. Using data from semi-structured interviews with workers and union leaders in the construction and garment sectors, I illustrate how gendered narratives and practices of control are mobilized through gender regimes that operate in the household, the workplace, and unions. I propose an analytical framework that incorporates these three interlocking gender regimes to draw attention to the contradictory role of unions in advocating for worker rights while depoliticizing women’s activism and sustaining gender inequity. I argue that it is the contradictory relationship between these regimes that entrenches women’s subordination within unions despite their numerical strength.

在全球范围内，工会被批评为高度性别化、父权制的组织，难以与女性接触并代表女性。在柬埔寨，妇女的积极性和组织权力之间的差距尤为突出。女工是劳工运动的代言人，但尽管工会内部采取了更进步的性别政策，但她们仍然被排除在工会领导之外。通过对建筑和服装行业工人和工会领导人的半结构化访谈数据，我说明了如何通过在家庭、工作场所和工会中运作的性别制度来动员性别叙事和控制实践。我提出了一个分析框架，将这三个相互关联的性别制度纳入其中，以提请注意工会在倡导工人权利同时使妇女的激进主义去政治化和维持性别不平等方面的矛盾作用。我认为，尽管妇女人数众多，但正是这些制度之间的矛盾关系巩固了妇女在工会中的从属地位。