We can’t wait 200 years for gender parity on councils – we need quotas
WITH local elections on the horizon in May 2019, it is time that we got real about increasing the number of women in politics. Soft measures are not working and it is no longer acceptable to have such low levels of women’s representation. We need the Government to introduce gender quotas for local government.
While there was some opposition to gender quotas ahead of their implementation in the general election in 2016, no one can deny that they achieved their goal, with women’s representation in the Dáil increasing from 15pc to 22pc in just one election cycle. Gender quotas are a blunt tool, but they work.
With the recent Yes vote in the referendum on the Eighth Amendment, and an upcoming referendum on removing the ‘Women in the Home’ article from the Constitution, there is a growing realisation of the need for equality for women in all areas of society.
This is an exciting time for women in Ireland. It was a difficult place for women for a long time but now we can see that things are changing, and we need to keep this momentum. The local elections are an important time to increase the number of women in local government.
The number of women in local government is painfully low, so much so that men out-number women in all regional decisionmaking structures in Ireland. In 1999, the number of women elected to local councils was 16pc, and there hasn’t been much of an increase in almost two decades. Just 19pc of those elected in 2004 were women. The number was the same in 2009, and in the last local election in 2014, there was a small increase to 21pc.
At that rate, it would take 200 years for us to achieve equality in local government. And we cannot afford to wait.
Previously, the approach to women’s equality was to do nothing and hope that change just happened. This has never worked, and it is no longer an acceptable way of doing business.
Yesterday, we heard Minister of State John Paul Phelan is planning to introduce a scheme in which political parties who have at least 30pc female candidates will be supported by getting additional funding for a diversity/equality officer within their organisation. This is indeed something which is to be welcomed, but this must happen alongside gender quotas, and not instead of.
The Irish public are well ahead of our politicians, and we want to see change. We need to shift gears, and implement harder measures, to increase the numbers of women in politics at all levels.
Behind the blunt percentages, the numbers speak for themselves. Only 198 out of 949 current councillors are women. Some 28 of the 137 local electoral areas are represented by all-male slates of councillors, and only six of the 31 councils have a woman chair.
This year, the centenary of women getting the vote, we need to see real change. To see more women in politics, we need strong commitments rooted in substantive laws, and sanctions where necessary.
The numbers of women in politics matters. In a representative democracy, it matters who represents us, and what they represent. Women’s representation is essential to the quality of our democratic processes.
Alongside this, politicians can be important leaders for our young people. Young women tell us that they cannot be what they cannot see. It is so important that the women of tomorrow see more women in politics so they have more role models in Ireland.
For many, local elections are a pipeline for general elections. In the 2007 and 2011 Dáil elections, 76pc of male candidates elected had local government experience while for women the figure was 81pc. The experience of being on local councils is invaluable for politicians seeking election to the Dáil, and increasing the number of women on county councils is therefore crucial for increasing the number of women in the Dáil.
We know that the number of women in politics has a direct correlation with advancing policy issues that matter most to women.
For example, women politicians such as Clare Daly and Ivana Bacik worked with women’s groups for many years to secure a referendum on the Eighth Amendment, often when the issue was a difficult one to campaign on. The number of women in politics, and the issues that they represent, makes a real difference to the lives of women in Ireland. Quite simply, we need to see more of them.
A woman’s place is on city and county councils, a woman’s place is in the Oireachtas, a woman’s place is anywhere decisions are made.
More women will lead to better politics. Better politics is not something we can wait for. We need legislation for gender quotas in local elections now, to see real change in our lifetime.
Orla O’Connor is director of the National Women’s Council of Ireland, Ireland’s largest women’s membership organisation.