diff --git a/bin/run_tests.py b/bin/run_tests.py
index 1a1895cf..17f06aa5 100755
--- a/bin/run_tests.py
+++ b/bin/run_tests.py
@@ -10,7 +10,11 @@ if __name__ == '__main__':
     os.chdir(Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1])
 
     # run the unit tests
-    subprocess.check_call([sys.executable, '-m', 'pytest', 'unit_test', '--runslow'])
+    unit_test_args = [sys.executable, '-m', 'pytest', 'unit_test']
+    # run the docker unit tests only on Linux
+    if sys.platform.startswith('linux'):
+        unit_test_args += ['--run-docker']
+    subprocess.check_call(unit_test_args)
 
     # run the integration tests
     subprocess.check_call([sys.executable, '-m', 'pytest', '-x', '--durations', '0', 'test'])
diff --git a/unit_test/conftest.py b/unit_test/conftest.py
index e446d0a1..a54658a9 100644
--- a/unit_test/conftest.py
+++ b/unit_test/conftest.py
@@ -3,19 +3,19 @@ import pytest
 
 def pytest_addoption(parser):
     parser.addoption(
-        "--runslow", action="store_true", default=False, help="run slow tests"
+        "--run-docker", action="store_true", default=False, help="run docker tests"
     )
 
 
 def pytest_configure(config):
-    config.addinivalue_line("markers", "slow: mark test as slow to run")
+    config.addinivalue_line("markers", "docker: mark test requiring docker to run")
 
 
 def pytest_collection_modifyitems(config, items):
-    if config.getoption("--runslow"):
-        # --runslow given in cli: do not skip slow tests
+    if config.getoption("--run-docker"):
+        # --run-docker given in cli: do not skip docker tests
         return
-    skip_slow = pytest.mark.skip(reason="need --runslow option to run")
+    skip_docker = pytest.mark.skip(reason="need --run-docker option to run")
     for item in items:
-        if "slow" in item.keywords:
-            item.add_marker(skip_slow)
+        if "docker" in item.keywords:
+            item.add_marker(skip_docker)
diff --git a/unit_test/docker_container_test.py b/unit_test/docker_container_test.py
index 7e124d38..cba0fb50 100644
--- a/unit_test/docker_container_test.py
+++ b/unit_test/docker_container_test.py
@@ -8,25 +8,25 @@ from cibuildwheel.docker_container import DockerContainer
 DEFAULT_IMAGE = 'centos:6'
 
 
-@pytest.mark.slow
+@pytest.mark.docker
 def test_simple():
     with DockerContainer(DEFAULT_IMAGE) as container:
         assert container.call(['echo', 'hello'], capture_output=True) == 'hello\n'
 
 
-@pytest.mark.slow
+@pytest.mark.docker
 def test_no_lf():
     with DockerContainer(DEFAULT_IMAGE) as container:
         assert container.call(['printf', 'hello'], capture_output=True) == 'hello'
 
 
-@pytest.mark.slow
+@pytest.mark.docker
 def test_environment():
     with DockerContainer(DEFAULT_IMAGE) as container:
         assert container.call(['sh', '-c', 'echo $TEST_VAR'], env={'TEST_VAR': '1'}, capture_output=True) == '1\n'
 
 
-@pytest.mark.slow
+@pytest.mark.docker
 def test_container_removed():
     with DockerContainer(DEFAULT_IMAGE) as container:
         # call a command to ensure it has started
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ def test_container_removed():
     assert old_container_name not in docker_containers_listing
 
 
-@pytest.mark.slow
+@pytest.mark.docker
 def test_large_environment():
     # max environment variable size is 128kB
     long_env_var_length = 127*1024
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ def test_large_environment():
         assert container.call(['sh', '-c', 'echo ${#d}'], env=large_environment, capture_output=True) == f'{long_env_var_length}\n'
 
 
-@pytest.mark.slow
+@pytest.mark.docker
 def test_binary_output():
     with DockerContainer(DEFAULT_IMAGE) as container:
         # the centos image only has python 2.6, so the below embedded snippets