leadership

Opinion by Breda O'Brien

Ireland is among the 10 lowest-ranked EU countries when it comes to political and economic representation of women.

In January, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, we ranked joint 60th in the world when it comes to women in ministerial positions, along with Kyrgyzstan, Malta, Ukraine and Uruguay. I doubt the new ministerial appointments have nudged us far up the list.

It may be the 21st Century, but many of the barriers that kept women from entering politics over the last 100 years still exist, said 20-year-old university student Supriya Trivedi.

For instance, juggling a career with motherhood remains a significant obstacle for prospective female politicans, Trivedi said.

“I definitely felt that we were past that,” she said.

As the world looks on in horror at the bloodshed in Gaza, Mary Gahonzire brings a unique perspective to the role of women in peacemaking and reconciliation. Gahonzire is deputy commissioner of the Rwanda Correctional Service, which runs prisons in the country that 20 years ago was torn apart by 100 days of killing.

“It’s true that as a woman leader you attract probably a disproportionate amount of influence because there are so few of us,” says Helen Clark, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).