#CountHerIn: ‘More Women Day’ highlights need for more women in politics
Women representatives across the Green Party have joined Women for Election’s #CountHerIn campaign to highlight the need for more women in politics in Ireland. The date was chosen to mark the birthday of Countess Markievicz, the first woman in Europe to become a Minister. A century later, just 23% of TDs and 24% of Councillors in Ireland are woman, with Ireland ranking 95th in the world for the proportion of women in national parliament.
Green Party Deputy Leader and Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD said;
“On my first day in the Dáil chamber in 2016, I was shocked at how few women I saw around me. Irish politics is not diverse enough to reflect a true representation of Ireland, and it is vital that we bring more women to the decision-making tables of our society.
“In 2017, I established the cross-party National Women’s Caucus in the Dáil, and I’m proud to see this being replicated in local councils across Ireland. A key goal of mine as a Minister is to further gender equality within every sector under my remit. I’m committed to creating an equal Ireland for every woman, and I recognise how my position can help raise up women’s voices. This campaign is a call to action for Ireland, and I would encourage any woman thinking about taking that step into politics to count herself in and be heard.”
The Green Party is committed to achieving more ambitious targets for the 34th Dáil across all parties through the electoral reform process being led by Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan TD.
Minister Noonan said;
“We can and must do better. As Minister with responsibility for Electoral Reform, I want to see a participative process with women in politics to establish what changes are needed to reduce barriers and encourage political participation. Under the Electoral Reform Bill, which should be passed this year, an Electoral Commission will be established, and it is my hope they will be tasked with a research and advocacy role that would explore international best practice on the participation of women in politics, particularly those from minority backgrounds.
“While all political parties will be required to run a minimum of 40% women and 40% men in any general election from February 2023 onwards, we need to go beyond minimum quotas to ensure that women are represented and supported to continue a path in politics as a career. Our council chambers, our Dáil and Seanad are not representative of the people who live here, so we need to change this. The local and European elections will be our next opportunity to transform our democracy.”
The Green Party has a constitutional mandate for gender balance on all committees and the selection of candidates for public office, with women making up half of its elected representatives across the island of Ireland and women in many senior positions in the Party, including on the Executive Committee, the General Secretary and Cathaoirleach. The Green Party is proud to work many groups campaigning for gender equality in Ireland, including See Her Elected, Women for Election and the National Women’s Council.
Green Party Cathaoirleach, Senator Pauline O’Reilly said;
“In the Green Party, half of our elected representatives are women, but I believe that there is so much more work that we can do for women in general in politics. We need to ensure that we are supporting and promoting women from diverse backgrounds, and in the next election I want to make sure that we step things up and support women and those of all genders all over the country to join the Green Party and represent their community.”
