Today we celebrate the birthday of Countess Markievicz, the first woman in Ireland, and indeed Europe, to be appointed a government minister in 1919. And while it may seem odd to say this, more than 100 years later, there has still never been a more critical time to proactively and affirmatively count women into our political institutions and chambers.
Despite our pioneering start for gender equality in politics in Ireland, we have not just floundered and lagged when it comes to equal and fair representation since that first Dáil. Cutting straight to the point, it’s fair to say, our political institutions and systems have deliberately worked against women from becoming active citizens in their own country for more than a century.
The effects of this exclusion are still being felt today, the legacy of so few women in government for a century is haunting Ireland in 2022
Ireland still ranks just 97th in the world for the percentage of women in national parliament, with men occupying 77 per cent of Dáil seats and 75 per cent of local council seats. Only 21 women have ever been appointed as Ministers since Ireland led the way in 1919. In 2022, only four women are representing the whole province of Munster in the Dáil. There are 11 constituencies and 23 local electoral areas with no women elected to represent them. A Traveller woman has never been elected locally or nationally and 100 years later we are still waiting for a woman to be appointed as Taoiseach.
While this situation might be minimised, trivialised, excused or rationalised, there’s more going on here than just bad luck and poor female candidates. Markievicz, along with hundreds of other women, worked hard for an Irish Republic which promised equality for women and men. However establishment of the Free State was marked by the disappearance of women from political and public life, constitutionally banished to the home and established as second class citizens – far from the Proclamation’s promise.
For the subsequent decades women were excluded from exerting their power and representing their communities in local council chambers, the cabinet table and in both houses of the Oireachtas. The effects of this exclusion are still being felt today, the legacy of so few women in government for a century is haunting Ireland in 2022.
Outside of Dublin the picture of local council chambers is predominantly one of white men, many of whom have rotated the council seats between them over decades of local elections, with party pacts, intra-party networks and a pervasive male-orientated culture predominantly leaving women in backroom jobs and essentially excluded from realising their power and potential to equally participate in democracy. While this picture has of course improved a little in 100 years, (there are 31 more women in the Dáil than in 1921) we are still far from achieving a critical mass of women at any political decision-making table.
A diversity of women and men in Irish politics will radically change the representation of the lived experiences of all of our population
The absence of this critical mass from the Dáil and the majority of local councils not only hurts women, it is also injurious to the majority of men. Lack of diversity in decision making is severely limiting the potential for effective governance and a healthy democracy. This status quo and democratic inertia is also damaging Ireland’s international reputation as a progressive country.
In recent weeks, for example, Ireland has rallied together and grappled with the horrendous issue of male violence against women. Today, and in the future, we’re suggesting that an important thing men can do is to encourage, support and help resource women to get on the election ticket.
If we are serious about tackling gender inequality in Ireland, and particularly its worst manifestation in the widespread prevalence of male violence against women, then we have to radically address a key driver – the distribution of power in politics. While important to see statements from many male politicians in the Dáil last week, I’m left with the niggling frustration that it has taken so long. A diversity of women and men in Irish politics will radically change the representation of the lived experiences of all of our population, every day.
Though the statistics and the facts may still be bleak, the solutions are within our reach. The culture of politics has been slowly changing to become more accessible to women, but multiple barriers still persist. There is no shortage of practical and systemic solutions that have already been recommended which need the political will to implement them, including tackling the prevalence of targeted abuse particularly towards women, introducing maternity leave, more family friendly policies and resourcing mentoring and bespoke training. However, the persistent barriers of unequal candidate selection and token or unsupported candidates needs a more radical approach.
When the ballot papers are printed at the next elections we want to see a 50-50 representation
Fundamentally, political parties need to select and support women and men equally in the next elections. Existing quotas should be the minimum, 50-50 should be the target. This requires a radical shift in culture in many political parties. Essentially a lot more men need to abandon their ambitions for seats and make room for a lot more women on the ballot paper. If we are serious about tackling one of the main roots of gender inequality in Ireland – the time for this approach is now.
In Markievicz we are remembering a woman who used her power, resilience, courage, principles, and social capital to help achieve a fairer, better and more equal Ireland. On this celebration of her birth date as the first ever More Women Day and the launch of our new initiative Count Her In, we are inviting political leaders to help drive the change needed to achieve a 2022 version of the equal Ireland that she and other suffragettes fought so hard to achieve. We are also asking Irish women to count themselves to be represented equally in Ireland’s next generation of politicians.
When the ballot papers are printed at the next elections we want to see a 50-50 representation – at that point, it’s over to the voters to decide freely who represents them. However, equal chance of election can only start when there is equal and diverse gender representation on the ticket in the first place. #CountHerIn
Caitríona Gleeson is chief executive of Women for Election