Politics for women course popular
Over 40 women, including a number from Sligo, are taking part in an innovative online initiative aimed at raising awareness of how local government works and how decisions are taken that impact their everyday lives. The programme is being run as part of #SHESchool from the SHE (See Her Elected) Programme.
SHE Development Officer Dr. Michelle Maher said:“There is a huge appetite for information about local government structures and how they work.
“Our participants come from all walks of life who want to understand why decisions are made a local level and how they can have their say.”
Among the topics covered are; structures of local county councils and how they operate, the ways in which women can get involved in decision-making without necessarily running for election as well as electoral systems.
#SHESchool is a relaxed introduction to local political life with plenty of discussion and chat online.
Due to the popularity of the programme, plans are underway to deliver it again for the month of June, starting on Wednesday 3 June.
Until now the SHE Project has been building up connections with women’s networks around the region and fearing the Covid-19 crisis could undermine efforts to get more women involved in politics, the group decided to launch an online school.
“The Covid-19 crisis has changed everything and many women may now be asking themselves if they should take the leap into political life at this crucial time in our history,
“We want to give them the tools they will need to make a difference in their local communities,” said Michelle.
‘It’s great to see the SHE the project up and running, we have been working for some time to get more locally based supports for women wishing to get into local politics, hopefully at a later stage we’ ll be able to run events but it’s interesting that this online School has really taken off, clearly showing women are more than interested in local politics’, said Nóirín Clancy of 50:50 North West.