Ireland

It is time that the percentage of Irish women attaining high levels of education is reflected in decision making roles in politics and business, the head of the EU Commission representation in Ireland told an event held in Dublin tonight.

In Ireland, the rate of female participation in politics is one of the lowest in Europe

Just 15 per cent of Dail members are women, which ranks 5th in Europe, according to European Parliament figures collected after the general election in 2011. 

Last year, the department of the environment introduced legislation under the Electoral Act 1997 stipulating that all political parties provide a minimum of 30 per cent female candidates at the next general election or risk losing 50 per cent of their state funding.

The stark gender imbalance in cabinet means many ministers have little direct knowledge of policy issues they are discussing, the Cabinet’s most senior female minister has suggested.

Joan Burton said that when issues such as children, care and “all sorts of struggles”, including the Magdalene Laundries, were discussed, it was “surprising” because “you have a lot of men around the table and they haven’t had much contact with some of these issues”. 

President Michael D Higgins said last night that the low level of women in the political world was of serious concern.

Speaking at an event at Áras an Uachtaráin to mark International Women's Day, he said: "We must do much more to reform our political system to ensure that the boundless talent, intelligence and skills that women bring to the workplace generally can be more profoundly present in our parliament.

Under-representation of women in the Northern Ireland Assembly will be on the agenda during today's debate. Sinn Fein wants a working group set up to address the issue as well as the broader impact of women`s marginalisation within politics.
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Under-representation of women in the Northern Ireland Assembly will be on the agenda during today’s debate. Sinn Féin wants a working group set up to address the issue as well as the broader impact of women’s marginalisation within politics.
For more information, please visit Ireland Online's Website.

Having more women in politics should be more than an aspiration – their presence must be backed up by law, a Dáil sub-committee was told yesterday. Former Fine Gael minister for education Gemma Hussey told the Dáil sub-committee on Women’s Participation in Politics she was “not starry-eyed” about voluntary quotas for women.
To read the full article, please visit the Irish Times Website.