Claire Gibbons spoke to Niamh Gallagher from Women for Election about female representation in parliament, the barriers which deter women from entering politics and the benefits of having gender balance.

There have been just 219 female TDs since Ireland’s first government in 1918, compared to 4,233 male TDs. The number of females in Dáil Eireann has never exceeded 16%. Ireland is currently ranked 25th out of 28 in Europe with regards to female representation. These stark figures just show the struggle Ireland has had in women accessing power.

Non-profit Women for Election, founded by Michelle O’Donnell Keating and Niamh Gallagher in 2009, works to increase female participation in Irish politics. Their established training programmes, such as EQUIP and INSPIRE, aim to provide support for women interested in entering politics in both rural and urban Ireland.

“Almost 75% of people would vote for a woman instead of a man in order to increase female representation”

Why is female participation so low in Ireland?

Out of a total of 166 TDs in the Dáil, only 25 are women. At local Government level women make up just 16% of councillors.

The 5Cs have been identified as the main barriers women encounter in politics;
Cash, Confidence, Childcare, Candidate selection and Culture.

In addition the adversarial nature of Irish politics deters many women from entering the fray. It is interesting to see that more women are drawn to the European Parliament then our own national Parliament due to a greater emphasis on alliance building and consensus. Also, it can take considerable financial resources to run a national election campaign and this acts a barrier for many women.

Is it naive to assume that a gender-equal parliament would result in different policies in comparison to a male-dominated one?

No not at all. Though the political issues women and men face are the same, they often prioritise them differently. For example, in general elections, men may give greater weight to income tax policies while women may hold health and education in higher regard.

In Rwanda the parliamentary women’s caucus led a successful effort to pass ground-breaking legislation on gender-based violence in part by involving and garnering support from their male colleagues.

What, if anything, can Ireland learn from countries, such as Rwanda, who are achieving huge gains in gender equality in government?

In many African countries women face multiple inequalities with regards to inheritance of property and land, access to schooling, and reproductive health rights. Few women have any knowledge of their legal rights, mainly due to illiteracy. When women have a strong and equal voice in positions of public and political life then these issues will be tackled head on.

“The recession highlighted how homogeneity at the top can lead to group-think and a lack of proper challenge to decisions made”

Likewise if more women are elected in this country it will enrich the diversity of voices in our politics.

This will lead to more robust decisions, and help create a fairer, more inclusive and dynamic society, better equipped to tackle future challenges.

Is the attitude of  the electorate changing with regards to women representation?

Our survey found that almost 75% of people would vote for a woman instead of a man in order to increase female representation. This tells us that there is a real appetite out there for change. The recession highlighted how homogeneity at the top of organisations can lead to group-think and a lack of proper challenge to decisions made.

Christine Lagarde, Head of the IMF, among others has questioned if the global financial crisis would have been so severe if there were more women in decision making roles. Governments need to be made up of the widest pool of talent, both male and female to ensure a diversity of experience and perspective.

What should Ireland be aiming towards in the post-2015 framework regarding women in power?

Women for Election has a vision of an Ireland with balanced participation of women and men in political life.  A 30% gender quota will come into effect at the next general election which we very much welcome. However, women make up 51% of the population, they are not a minority group. We would like to see that balance reflected in the numbers of woman in national decision-making roles.

You can find out more about Women for Election through their Website,  Facebook or Twitter pages.

Author: Claire Gibbons

Claire has recently completed a Masters in Gender and Women’s Studies at Trinity College. She completed her undergraduate in History in NUI Maynooth. Claire has previously taken the Suas Global Issues course and volunteered with the Suas literacy support programme.

Photo credit: Michelle O’Donnell Keating and Niamh Gallagher, Women for Election

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