The recent decision by TDs Olwyn Enright and Liz McManus to not seek re-election to the Dáil at the next general election again highlights the urgent need for more women in Irish politics. Today, there are currently 23 women in Dáil Éireann, which accounts for a paltry 13.85 per cent of the seats. The figures for Seanad Éireann are only marginally better where twelve of the 60 senators (20 per cent of the seats) are women. Ireland currently lies in 84th position, ranked equally with Cameroon, in a world classification table of women’s representation in parliament compiled by the inter-parliamentary union. Of the 27 EU member states, Ireland is ranked in 23rd position (only Cyprus, Romania, Hungary and Malta are ranked lower). Women account for 17 per cent of the members of local authorities and just 12 per cent of the members of regional authorities. Only eighty-two women out of a total of 470 candidates contested the General Election in 2007. This is the lowest number of female candidates to contest a general election since 1989. Before 1981, the average Dáil contained only four women. 1981 saw a record number of eleven women elected to Dáil Éireann. Since then, the average number of women in Dáil Éireann has increased to 15. The figures for women TDs and candidates in 1981, low as they were, represented record levels at the time, and marked a turning point in women’s parliamentary seat holding. However, since then, progress has been relatively modest and appears to have stalled at about 22 seats.
So, why are so few women involved in politics in Ireland? The academic literature propose the five ‘C’s’ of care (childcare or otherwise), culture, cash, confidence and candidate selection to summarise the main barriers facing women when entering politics. Care: A recent report by the National Women’s Council of Ireland (Who Cares?: 2009) showed that over the course of a week, women in this country spend on average a fifth of their day engaged in care and household work, three times as much as men do. These facts indicate that there is a persistent cultural bias towards traditional gender roles in Ireland. The expectation placed on many women to maintain the customary role of main home-maker, prevents or delays many women from entering politics. Cash: The 2009 CSO Women and Men in Ireland Report indicates that women’s income is around two-thirds of that of men. With not as much cash at their disposal, many women find it difficult to enter politics and fund campaigns. Confidence: The masculine image of politics expressed by comments such as ‘clubby’, ‘male dominated’, ‘old boys’ network’, is one which many women feel unable to break through. Candidate selection: Party candidate selection procedures have long acted as a barrier against the selection of women candidates. Party activists will tend to favour the ‘tried and tested’ male incumbent candidate at selection conventions. As a result, it is often difficult for ‘new’ women candidates to get selected. Culture: Recent research has that “women’s absence from the legislature is taken as a given rather than seen as a problem of democratic legitimacy” in the Republic of Ireland. We’re trapped in a cultural mindset where we expect our politicians to be male.
